SHESTCO urged to embrace emerging technologies
By Olasunkanmi Onifade
The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology has urged staff of Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO) to show greater commitment to acquiring innovative skills in line with international best practices.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Asanye Esuabana, made the call during a courtesy visit to SHESTCO in Abuja.
She stated that for the Complex to remain relevant in the scheme of things, staff must improve their knowledge of recent emerging technologies.
“Like the genetics, DNA, chromosome, amongst others. For now this genome editing, that is a burden.
“I don’t wish people from India, China, South Africa, to come and do it for us. We should be the ones.
“But if you do the research yourself and come up with those things that can make us also to get these things institutionalised in Nigeria, we can also now trade it to other African countries,” she said.
Esuabana emphasised the need to embrace emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, robotics, and others.
Earlier, the Director General of SHESTCO, Prof. Paul Onyenekwe, said their mandate was to develop facilities for the effective practice of science and technology in the country at no cost.
He noted that their research and development activities cover all areas of science and the environment, including agriculture, medicine, and basic sciences.
“We also expected to operate international relationship between Nigeria scientists and also foreign scientists. One other very important mandate is also for us to carry structured manpower training.
“Structured manpower training in the sense that science is dynamic, is always evolving, new ideas, new techniques are always coming up, and therefore it is expected that scientists here are supposed to be ahead of others,” he said.
Onyenekwe added that in Feb., some scientists from SHESTCO represented the country at the 15th International Invention Fair held in Kuwait.
“Out of 29 inventions in the natural science category, SHESTCO ERA’s Anti-Epilepsy Herbal Tea won bronze.
“Out of 26 inventions, SHESTCO’s Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Hemoparasites Detection (AIEHD) Model won silver in the AI category. Nigeria emerged third in natural science and second in AI”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that SHESTCO is a parastatal under the Ministry of Science and Technology. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Tosin Kolade
Published By
- Senior Editor
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