By Wilson Macaulay
The Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) in Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria is making remarkable progress in growing key skills needed for the future. The Acting Principal and Chief Executive of the Institute, Dr. Samuel E. Onoji, is passionate about ensuring that the Institute becomes the leading oil and gas technological Institute in Africa. He is focused on ensuring that both staff and students of the Institute gain practical knowledge in order to stay competitively and relevant in the global market.
In a bid to foster this passion, the Linkages, Exchange, and Partnerships (LEP) unit of the Petroleum Training Institute organized a webinar training series tagged:”Industry Academia Linkage (IAL) Webinar Series”. The Head of the LEP unit of PTI, Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah A. Nwinee, said that, the IAL webinar series deploys in Triple Helix Model to foster innovation in training, research, and consultancy in the Institute.
According to her, the IAL webinar series provides a platform for subject matter experts from the industry to train staff of the institute to avail them the opportunity to gain knowledge on the current trends in the industry.
Dr. Nwinee stated that the 6th edition of the IAL webinar series which was held on August 29, 2024, was hosted in collaboration with Faith Leads University (FLU) in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA with the objective to train both staff and students in Artificial Intelligence (AI), thus empowering them with the requisite AI skills needed to excel in the future.According to her,the partnership between PTI and FLU Florida to host this webinar marks a significant step in fostering the drive of the Institute towards building sustainable skills required to provide solutions to the challenges of the industry.
The webinar featured Dr. Paul Okatahi, Vice President and Founder of Faith Leads University, as the lead speaker. Dr Okatahi’s presentation, titled “Developing Essential AI Skills for the Future,” explored the transformative impact of AI on various sectors of the economy and how educational institutions like PTI can align their programmes to meet industry demands. Dr. Okatahi emphasized the importance of adopting a beginner’s mind-set when engaging with AI. He described AI as “mathematics and data,” highlighting its potential to help people solve real-world problems. According to him, Generative AI, offers solutions in various areas of life ranging from robotics to medical advancements.
He said, several AI-driven innovations, including self-driving cars, drones, and even robotic bodyguards. He highlighted the growing need for AI skills in fields like mechatronics, machine learning, and neural networks. According to him, the limitations of AI, is that, AI unlike humans, lacks common sense, emotions, and the ability for gender and age differentiation. He said AI is evolving adding that, these challenges are not insurmountable just as he emphasized the importance of quality data and ethical considerations in AI development.
At the end of quiz session, 12 participants who performed were said to receive the Faith Leads University Google Scholarship worth over $300. According to her, the scholarship will enable them enrol and study any of the high-demand tech industry certificate programmes : Cyber security, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing and E-commerce, Project Management, UX Design and IT Support for a period of 3 months.
In her good will message, Ihuaku Ugwu, HR Manager, SLB (formerly known as Schlumberger) Land and Rigs, Houston, Texas, USA. Ihuaku, underscored AI’s potential to empower individuals and expand their academic and professional horizons. According to her, “AI is no longer a futuristic concept; but a vital component of industries ranging from energy to finance.” and therefore the need for participants’ curiosity about learning AI.
In her vote of thanks, Mrs. Florence Jumbo, Deputy Director, Human Resources Development, on behalf of the Registrar expressed the gratitude to Dr. Paul Okatahi and Ihuaku Ugwu for their contributions and to Dr. (Mrs) Sarah A. Nwinee and her team for organising the webinar. Africa. In a bid to foster this passion, the Linkages, Exchange, and Partnerships (LEP) unit of the Petroleum Training Institute organized a webinar training series tagged, Industry Academia Linkage (IAL) Webinar Series.
According to the Head of the LEP unit of PTI, Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah A. Nwinee, the IAL webinar series deploys the Triple Helix Model to foster innovation in training, research, and consultancy in the Institute. She said, IAL webinar series provides a platform for subject matter experts from the industry to train staff of the institute, avail them the opportunity to learn current trends in the industry.
She expressed the gratitude of the institute to Dr. Paul Okatahi and Ihuaku Ugwu for their valuable contributions and Dr. (Mrs) Sarah A. Nwinee and her team for organising the webinar.The highlight of the event was the vote of thanks by Mrs. Florence Jumbo, Deputy Director, Human Resources Development on behalf of the Registrar.