Data & Financial Inclusion | |
Data & Financial Inclusion | |
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Tuesday, November 05, 2019 / 12:00PM / Data Science Nigeria / Header Image Credit: Data Science Nigeria
In furtherance of its
vision democratise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and position Nigeria as a
future global powerhouse in the fourth industrial revolution, the convener of
Data Science Nigeria (DSN), Olubayo Adekanmbi has released a first-of-its-kind
book that simplifies Artificial Intelligence for primary and secondary schools
pupils. This effort is in alignment with DSN's roadmap to build a community of
one million talented artificial intelligence (AI) specialists in Nigeria during
the next 10 years, which will position Nigeria as one of the top 10 AI talent
destination in the world, with significant GDP multiplier across all
industries.
The book is an effort
towards AI knowledge democratization as it simplifies the concept of artificial
intelligence in a friendly manner to our young ones, with a view to stimulating
their curiosity and driving their interest in learning about AI. The book
starts with generic introductions to the core concepts including machine
learning, deep learning and reinforcement learning, and then introduces
step-by-step programming using the Python programming language. My intention is
to go beyond the traditional code-first approach and motivate readers by
helping them to understand what the knowledge of coding can do particularly in
AI as a way to build an application-focused mindset.
The book is driven by a
sense of higher purpose to catalyse nationwide capacity building with the
skills of the future. Bayo Adekanmbi said, "By creating pervasive knowledge
across the country, we will open opportunities for every Nigerian to build the
skills of the future. I believe that Nigeria's population of 200 million,
with median age of about 18 years, is a huge strategic advantage that will position
Nigeria as one of the top 10 AI knowledge centres in the world, especially if
we proactively re-tool and reskill our young ones with relevant skills that can
drive increased employability, foreign exchange inflows, AI-enabled start-ups,
and enhance the general quality of life through solution-oriented AI
applications in health, agriculture, financial inclusion, smart cities, and
more. This will greatly benefit lives of Nigerians, starting with those who
train as data scientists and artificial intelligence specialists.".
With this book, Nigerian
students who want to learn Big Data, Data Science, Machine/Deep Learning and
other advanced analytics tools can now access to easy-to-understand simple
learning materials with relevant practical exercises. The book is fully supported
by Softcom, and willl be distributed free in Nigerian schools.
Olubayo Adekanmbi is an
experienced hands-on data scientist, doctoral researcher and business leader
with 20 years of experience. He has led the DSN non-profit vision, which in the
last two years of operation has distinguished itself with its transformational
initiatives including the 1st Intercampus Machine Learning competition that
involved over 10,000 students from 95 universities and polytechnics, dedicated
Artificial Intelligence Community Hub, AI Summer Schools for Kids, AI
Masterclass sessions for top business executives in Nigeria, industry-oriented
hackathons, Learning-based Kaggle competitions, a Mentorship programme,
development of Nigeria-centric Machine Learning/Deep learning curriculum/online
learning platform, AI+ Clubs in secondary schools, and its highly
successful all-expenses-paid Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp.
The book will be unveiled
at the annual Artificial Intelligence Summit,
scheduled to hold on Tuesday 19 November 2019 at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria
Island, Lagos. The event will run in parallel with the Artificial
Intelligence Demystified Masterclass for executive and the all-expense-paid
Artificial Intelligence bootcamp, where 26 international experts will be flying
to Nigeria as tutors and mentors during the same week.
The events are proudly
supported by Microsoft, Softcom, Lagos State Office of Innovation, Terragon
Group, Bluechip Technologies, Axa Mansard, Retina-AI USA, Techcabal, Proshare
Nigeria, MainOne and Carbon.
Register HERE to participate
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