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By Oluseye Ojo
In a bid to emplace a transformative educational initiative, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in partnership with tech giants, Infinix and Google have trained 30 students of the University of Ibadan towards bridging digital divide
This initiative seeks to prepare Nigeria’s youth for a rapidly evolving technological landscape with a view to creating innovators who can leverage and expand upon these technologies for the benefit of society.
It was part of the training of 10,000 students across different universities in Nigeria by UNESCO and the tech giants
The training kicked off at the Infinix Students Resource Centre, University of Ibadan, where the 30 students, selected from different departments and facilities, were trained on the basics of Artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotics. The training is being provided under the UNESCO STEM Education Project, built by Google, and powered by Infinix.
The Public Relations Manager for Infinix Nigeria, Oluwayemisi Ode, said: “We are excited to bring new CogLabs modules in AI, robotics, and programming, enabling hands-on, practical experiences. This aligns with our belief that Nigeria’s youth are not just beneficiaries of technology—they are the innovators who will drive tomorrow’s advancements.
“Our partnership with the University of Ibadan plays a vital role in shaping technologically proficient leaders of tomorrow. We share this vision wholeheartedly with UNESCO, Google and other partners, and remain committed to fostering similar collaborative opportunities across Nigeria.”
Ode stated further that through the workshop, “we are excited to bring new CogLabs modules in AI, robotics, and programming, enabling hands-on, practical experiences. This aligns with our belief that Nigeria’s youth are not just beneficiaries of technology—they are the innovators, who will drive tomorrow’s advancements.
“To the students, you are the future of technology and innovation in Nigeria. We encourage you to take full advantage of the opportunities and resources this partnership provides through the ICT Resource Centre and the CogLabs mobile application. You represent Nigeria’s bright potential in the tech industry, and we are honoured to be part of your journey.”
The Community Manager, Infinix XClub, Olumide Aduloju, told journalists on the sidelines of the training that the “workshop is to teach AI education and robotics to students and to young people at large. So basically what we are having today is a train-the-trainer session. We are going to be training 30 students of the University of Ibadan who are interested in STEM and AI.
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“Actually, we are targeting at least 10,000 students at the end of the day. This is a continuous project. So, our aim is to, at least, train 300 people every quarter. So these trainers are going to also be having their own workshops to train more people.”
Aduloju stated further: “This is the first university in Nigeria that we have had this event. In actual fact, we had this training to train trainers for teachers of secondary schools some days ago in Abuja. So, we have a two-day session there to train science teachers in secondary schools around Nigeria. We had the programme at the UNESCO head office in Abuja. And in terms of whether this is the first university, no. We have had this initiative done at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.”
A trainer, Eugene Masonde, one of the very first people that were trained by the UNESCO trainer, Dr. Joan Nadal, noted: “We’re here at the Infinix UNESCO Google Robotics event at the University of Ibadan. The objectives are to introduce at a very basic level aspects of robotics, aspects of artificial intelligence, aspects of machine learning and how to get this knowledge all the way down to the last person.
“So, even at the lowest levels of education we can be able to use some of these robotics kits that we have here to be able to train the younger generation. Then, as they build up, obviously we want them to pick up careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and become the future of Africa in STEM.”
Demola Lewis, the immediate past deputy dean of students in the university, who represented the dean of students on the occasion, said: “We’re very happy to partner with Infinix and with UNESCO to help train our students in these IT skills, such that they can apply them to the kind of innovations that they develop within their different careers.
“Education without AI right now is defective and you wouldn’t be able to penetrate the professional space if you don’t have sufficient AI training. So, we’re very happy that this is happening because our students are hungry for this.”
Miss Ruth Tijani, a 200-Level student of Computer Science in the university, stated that she got to know about the programme through the Dean of Students.
“Basically, he sent a circular to select students in some departments and I happened to be one of them,: she said.
Tijani stated that “AI education is something that is very deficient in most developing countries like in Nigeria. So, I am hoping that through this programme, I would be able to learn more about the use of AI in everyday technology basically.
“It would not just be in science and technology, also in solving basic problems that affect our society and our people. I also want to be a trainer too, which is the main purpose of the programme.”
Another student, who simply introduced himself as Festus, said he was happy to be among the beneficiaries of the workshop. He added that he was committed to becoming a trainer.
