Educationists, researchers and others have said that Nigeria must include relevant skills acquisition in its education curricula to remain relevant in the comity of nations.
They made their views known in a communique they issued at the end of a three-day University of Lagos International Research Conference and Fair.
The International Conference of the Humanities and Science which began on Wednesday had the theme: “Automation and Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities for 21st Research and Development’’.
The communique was signed by the Director, Academic Planning of the institution, Prof. Obinna Chukwu.
The conference – the 14th edition – was attended by more than 400 scholars, captains of industries and others from within and outside Nigeria.
A total number of 168 oral paper presentations and 49 poster presentations were made the conference which had Air Peace and Access Bank as major sponsors.
The participants observed that many countries suffered from significant skill mismatch due to inability of the education system to accurately reflect the demands of the labour market.
The participants noted that technology, specifically, artificial intelligence, was rapidly changing trends and perceptions in different facets of life including education, employment, economy, communication and healthcare.
They added that artificial intelligence would aid resource utilisation and development of smart cities.
They urged that researches in the academia that cut across disciplines should be carrief out in partnership with industries to build required competencies.
They also recommended that organisations in emerging markets should make investments in automation to bridge the gap between them and their counterparts in developed markets.
“Higher education should help students compete in artificial intelligence age by including it in the curriculum.
“Public/private partnership was recommended too as the best business case for cost effective gradual deployment of innovative information technology solutions and e-mobile technology for a better, safer and smarter transportation system,” they added.
