In a bid to meet up with the rest of the world, the Federal Government has commenced the construction of Technology Institute to be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including innovation hubs devoted to Artificial Intelligence.

With eleven Technology Institutes under the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) so far, the Government said there was need to build a Sustainable and Emerging Technologies Institute (SETI)

Performing the ground breaking ceremony at the Bayero University Kano (BUK) New Campus, the Executive Vice Chaiman/Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu said the new institute will also be equipped with other cutting-edge technologies to secure the socio-economic wellbeing of the future generation

Mr. Halilu said “NASENI will fully build, equip and support the new Institute” noting that the future of socio-economic development for nations rests on human creativity, innovation and cooperation, Artificial intelligence, robotics amongst others.

Halilu said that the establishment of SETI in Nigeria is to rapidly respond to the waves of young people globally revolutionizing world economies with unprecedented emergence of socio-economic frontiers as by-products of innovations and ingenuities of these young minds.

“We in NASENI are firm believers in the potential of young Nigerians to be the prime catalysts of the type of transformation that Nigeria requires. And we will do everything within our powers to support them to fulfill this important responsibility”

“We are gathered here today to kick start a project that will transform the lives and careers of future generations of young Nigerians. The Sustainable & Emerging Technologies Institute (SETI), located at the Bayero University Kano (BUK) by NASENI. This is very much in line with our operating principles; what we call our 3Cs: Collaboration, Creation, and Commercialization. These 3Cs are the principles that passionately drive us and guide the work that we do to ensure the industrialization of Nigeria in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

SETI the EVC said will produce innovators, technologists, entrepreneurs who will make their mark not just in Nigeria but around the world.

“I’m eagerly looking forward to the day, not too long from now, when the Institute’s first set of beneficiaries will astonish the world with what they’re capable of accomplishing. These stories will put not just BUK on the global innovation map, but also Kano State and the entire Nigeria” said Halilu.

While carrying out the symbolic foundation laying ceremony of the institute as Special Guest of Honour, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, described the project as not only laudable but NASENI’s another way of fast-tracking  the placing of Nigeria on the global map of innovation and industrialization.

The minister called the project an “ace project” and a pointer to secure a veritable socio-economic development for the nation.

In his goodwill message, the Vice Chancellor of BUK, Professor Sagir Adamu Abbas described the new institute as a vehicle for bringing together the three critical tripods for economic and sustainable development for nations

He described the ground-breaking event as the beginning of Nigeria’s journey in pursuit of sustainable development, massive job creation opportunities for the youths, and that the BUK was delighted to be host to such laudable initiative and momentum.

According to him, there is also, in addition to SETI, a second NASENI project for BUK is an Agri-preneurship Training Hub, that will be equipped with modern greenhouses, and facilities for Soil-less Farming, and Tissue Culture; occupying 10 hectares of land at the Old Campus.