THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE HONOURABLE COMMISSIONER MINISTRY OF EDUCATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, PROFESSOR ABDULWAHEED ADELABU ON THE OCCASION OF OPENING OF THE SQI AI AND ROBOTIC RESEARCH AND TRAINING AT HAIER THERMOCOOL BUILDING CHALLENGE ON 27TH JANUARY, 2024.
I am highly delighted for the honour bestowed on me to be invited to give a keynote address at theground opening of the SQI/Al and Robotic Research and Training Center here in Ibadan, with titled “Anticipated impact of the Research Center on Nation and Continent”
Firstly, I want to appreciate the organizer of this program (SQI) for his excellence in training and developing the skills of talent in various high demand tech field including Software Engineering, Data Science, Cyber Security, Procure Design and many more for more, than a decade.
Research,as we all known, is one of the tools to identify or examine certain aspect of concepts/workmanship for better productivity. Every area of work life that is moving on or not productive enough require a thorough findings. Research starts with setting of hypothesis, observation, finding and finally drawn at conclusion and passing recommendation based or its findings.
Research work can be made more relevant to the needs of Society when all bodies rally round together to dig down the cause of inefficiency of our Technology and come out with a preferred solution. Universities/institution of learning as we all known have been entrusted with research work but there are directly exist experts advisory group such as the Agriculture Research Council, the Advisory Council on Education, the National Science Technology Development Agency, NISER etc but their efforts in this direction has not been achieved the desire success for the following reasons:-
– Inadequate of resources and facilities such as, space, funds equipment and personnel.
– Heavy undergraduate teaching loads arising partly from paucity of post graduates students to assist in the teaching function.
– The Shortage of Postgraduate students engaging in research as an essential part of their work.
– External Commitments of University Teaching staff in full time service on Government boards
– Poor motivation: absence of stimulating research contracts from industries and from government.
– Lack of productivity orientation in most industries in Nigeria (most are merely marketing their services skills service, good: These especially in the technological fields.
– Lack of deliberate involvement of the Universities by government in
respect of the executing of national development projects.
– Research and training Is an inevitable trolls if rapid development is required for effective of any society.
Distinguish guests, in service training program vocational and Technical Education are part of the Transformation agenda of the present administration in our dear state. Therefore, in an attempt to proffer solution to the itemized problems above, I will like to reiterate that the state Government under the leadership of the Excellency Engineer Oluwaseyi Makinde in his focus to promote quantitative and qualitative Education for our children, gives adequate room for research in Education through the Planning, Research and Statistics department in the Ministry of Education.
Furthermore, the government makes provisions of sufficient fund to all Oyo State owned Universities and Polytechnics for them to intensifying their effort and to facilitate better coordination of research activities.
The Ministry of commerce and industry is being encouraged to fund sum of the research activity of universities and the research agencies in the states and those established by the federal government.
Presently the state government is liaising with non-governmental organization who are now pattering with the State in research particularly in the area of Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Among such Non organization are: High-Tech Centre for Nigeria Women and Youths, America Chemical Society, Digitalization foundation D-G Innovation K Brown Technologyconcept to mention but a few.
In addition, the state Government is making links between commerce and industry, the statutory corporation and the universities to further strengthen them so as to enhance the relevance of the research agencies to the needs of the society.
At this junction, I want to appreciate SQI college of ICT limited for setting up a research center of this type at the time Nigeria is in dare need of advance technical know-how for rapid development and betterment of economic situation of our dear state and Nigeria as a whole.
I hereby enjoy others to borrow a leave from this timing creativity of SQI. Government requires the support of all stakeholders to achieve its laudable objectives for the education sector in the state. The government has extended hands of partnership to other stakeholders in the education sectors. They should be ready to contribute their quota to the state in order to move it forward.
Thank you and God bless you.