by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
The Plateau State University, Bokkos, has created viable investment opportunities in agriculture, energy, manufacturing and technology through sustained investment in research and development.
Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Shedrack Best, disclosed recently during the University’s 2nd Inaugural Lecture when he said PLASU has transitioned from its early stages to an advanced institution with strong capacity in teaching, research and innovation, and invited investors across all sectors to partner with the University in its ongoing expansion.
He stressed that, “PLASU is beyond a baby university at this stage. What we are giving the people of Plateau State is a university befitting of our standing.
“We don’t want to be ranked behind any state university in the North. There is no justification for that,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
He noted that the lecture, titled, ‘An Exposé on the Global South: 21st Century Challenges and Opportunities,’ underscores PLASU’s alignment with global trends in Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for investors in the private sector, agriculture and many other areas to partner with PLASU. The focus on the Global South shows you can have AI that appreciates and works with humanity to improve life,” he said.
“With respect to today’s lecture, artificial intelligence, machine learning and all of these are present in our University. We are delighted to celebrate a professor, who has worked and taught in computer science and artificial intelligence. The moment PLASU has keyed into it, the entire Plateau State is in tandem with what is happening in the ICT world. We are part of a global community,” Best added.
The Vice-Chancellor further stated that the University has begun producing its own professors, with over ten professors of PLASU extraction so far.
“The tradition of inaugural lectures is associated with universities worldwide. When academics reach the pinnacle of their careers, they present a summation of their teaching, research and community service. We want to open the space for our professors to give their inaugural lectures. What we have had today will be replicated. We have other professors lined-up, and I envisage we will have two-to-three more before the close of this year, and more in 2027, based on the ongoing appraisal,” he said.
Speaking on expansion, he said, “When I came, I met five faculties at 100-level trying to settle down. These five faculties are now transiting to 400-level. We have introduced two new faculties now transiting to 200-level, and 16 new programmes about to commence at 100-level. More than that is the development of staff strength and quality,” he stated.
He credited the Visitor to the University and the Government and people of Plateau State for the growth.
While delivering the lecture, Guest Lecturer, Prof. Luhutyit Peter Damuut of the Computer Science Department at PLASU, highlighted opportunities in Artificial Intelligence for communities in the Global South, particularly within academia.
According to him, choice of topic is guided by global trends and my research field. I have been in this field since 2005. AI has been with us in different forms. We started out and most of the things we were working on evolved into AI today.
He explained that AI has its roots in computer science. “AI found us and now it’s here to live with us. We have to embrace it, work with it and explore the opportunities in it while containing the challenges, especially those peculiar to us within the Global South,” Damuut said.