NOUN to introduce Artificial Intelligence to enhance operations – VC

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) says it will soon introduce Artificial Intelligence for seamless operations and delivery of its activities.
Prof. Olufemi Peters, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, said this on at the pre-convocation news conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
Peters said most of the activities carried out in the institution were now be driven by technology.
“There is no university in sub-Saharan Africa, that deploys technology, the way we do it at NOUN,” he said.
According to Peters, the quest for technology has led the institution into establishing a Software Development Directorate, to push them deeper into technology.
“We are committed to leveraging technology to enhance our efficiency and boost support services.
“Perhaps, one of the greatest things we have done in the last one year is the establishment of a Directorate of Software Development.
“What this directorate has done is to assemble the IT staff that we have and challenge them with solutions to the administrative processes that will perform most of the task in the university.
“Very soon all what we will be looking out for, is to be using our smart phones to receive and listen to lectures, and even do examinations, if it is possible.
“What our university is doing now is to encourage personalised learning through the use of artificial intelligence.
“Our university is extremely strong in that line, and we hope to deploy artificial intelligence and the ethics of its usage to the fullest, to ensure that our students get the best of technology,” Peters said.
He noted that the software directorate with about 350 IT staff had rolled out a lot innovative mechanisms that enhanced operations in the university.
The VC added that NOUN success story had led to the licensing of four private open universities in the country.
“Even conventional universities are now using technology in the form of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) to teach their students.
“I can tell you that about 29 universities are also doing ODL to increase the accessibility of our citizens to university education, no matter where they are.
“If NOUN is not doing well, the Federal Government will not have licensed four private open universities and put them under our guidance.
“It is a testament to how we have delivered our lectures, treated our students and met our mandates.
“These four private universities have been put under our initial mentorship after which they will get their so-called ‘freedom’ from NOUN,” Peters added.
On the university’s 14th convocation scheduled to hold on April 12, in Abuja, the vice-chancellor said that 17,420 graduands, comprising 51 inmates of the Nigeria Correctional Centre, had completed their task of learning.
He said out of the total graduating students, 40 are PhD graduands, 4,310 Masters holders and 2,103 Postgraduate Diploma students.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President, African Development Bank (AfDB) and  Mr Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker, House of Representatives, will be conferred with an honorary doctorate degrees.
While Adesina is expected to receive honorary doctorate degrees of Doctor of Humane Letters, Tajudeen will be conferred with honorary doctorate degree of Business Administraton.