The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has held a two-day Staff Training and Capacity Development Workshop for staff of the Federal University Birnin Kebbi (FUBK) on artificial intelligence and digital learning platforms.
The workshop, held at the Leo Stan Computer Centre, (University's Main Campus), was organised under the TETFund Digital Ecosystem initiative, in collaboration with SBY Utility Engineering Ltd.
Speaking while declaring the training open, the Vice-Chancellor of FUBK, Prof. MZ Umar expressed confidence that the training would enhance staff capacity in the use of modern digital technologies for teaching, research and administration.
He thanked TETFund for providing the institution with the opportunity and formally welcomed the facilitators and participants to the workshop.
FUBK Bulletin reports that the training was facilitated by Ahmad Maccido of SBY Utility Engineering Ltd., who delivered extensive sessions on the operations, benefits and strategic importance of the TETFund Digital Ecosystem platforms in tertiary education.
Maccido took participants through the practical use of several digital tools designed to improve teaching, learning, research visibility and institutional administration in universities.
He also exposed participants to the opportunities and emerging trends in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, demonstrating how AI-powered platforms can support academic research, automate administrative processes, enhance virtual learning and improve productivity within higher institutions.
According to him, institutions that fail to embrace digital innovation and AI-driven systems risk falling behind in global academic competitiveness and research development.
Mr Maccido explained that the TETFund Digital Ecosystem integrates several platforms, including the TETFund Research and Academic Network (TETRAS), Blackboard Learning System, EagleScan and the Diaspora Bridge initiative to promote academic collaboration, digital learning and global research engagement among Nigerian tertiary institutions.
He said the ecosystem was designed to provide seamless access to digital libraries, research databases, virtual classrooms and academic networking opportunities for staff and students.
The facilitator further highlighted the benefits of the initiative to include improved research visibility, sponsored mobile data access, enhanced online learning support, easier academic resource sharing and better institutional efficiency through digital transformation.
He urged participants to maximise the training opportunity and embrace emerging technologies capable of transforming teaching, learning and research in the modern academic environment.
In appreciation, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. A.A. Turaki, expressed gratitude to the facilitators for exposing the participants to emerging digital technologies.
He encouraged the participants to make effective use of the knowledge acquired during the training to improve academic activities, research output and administrative efficiency in the university.