The Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Olufemi Peters, has said the Open and Distance learning (ODL) is more than a system as it is a lifeline.
He said the ODL's lifeline posture is for the farmer's daughter in the village, the market boy in the city, and the worker who still dreams of a university degree.
The Vice-Chancellor stated this at the 2025 National Smart Conference with the theme: "AI and the Future of Open and Distance Learning in Nigeria and Sub-Sahara Africa," held at the NOUN conference centre, Abuja.
Peters was represented by Prof. Christine Ofulue, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Technology, Innovation and Research.
He said though the lifeline for improvement in ODL is encouraging, yet it is fragile, constrained by poor infrastructure, diverse language, and models that are not yet flexible enough.
Explaining further, the Vice-Chancellor said the collaboration of NOUN and Miva Open University to seek for solutions is a welcome development.
"Our coming together not just to talk about technology, but to shape the very future of learning in Nigeria and Sub-Sahara Africa," he said.
The VC said Artificial Intelligence gives us a chance, not to walk slowly toward solutions, but to leapfrog into the future.
He said in doing this, three key pillars must be noted: Research, Practice, and Pedagogy.
"Without research, we only guess. With AI-driven learning analytics, we can predict dropouts before they happen, personalise learning journeys, and recommend resources in real time.
"With multilingual nature language processing, African learners can learn in the accents and languages of their hearts, not just in the tongues of colonization.
"Adaptive assessment will bend to each learner's pace. And equity research will make sure AI does not widen the gap, but closes it," he added.
In his keynote speech, the Vice-Chancellor , Miva Open University, Prof. Tayo Arulogun, said bringing these two institutions together in the Smart Innovation Conference 2025, is a landmark collaboration between NOUN's faculty of Computing and Miva's school of Computing.
This conference provides a national platform for academics, researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and students to engage in meaningful dialogue on Artificial Intelligence, computing and digital pedagogy, especially within the context of Open and Distance learning, he said.
"It is designed as an annual event, which seeks to foster collaboration across academia, industry, and government, promote innovation research, and opportunities for mentorship, networking, and career development," he added.
In his speech, the Dean, Faculty of Computing, National Open University of Nigeria, Prof. Olayemi Mikail Olaniyi, said Artificial Intelligence is not an abstract luxury, rather a set of computational tools that can lift the quality of health services, make agriculture more productive, expand access to justice, and re-imagine education.
Olaniyi said "AI is not just about algorithms; it is about redefinition of how we work, how we learn, and how we live. It offers tools to analyze vast datasets, detect patterns invisible to the human eyes, and generate insights that can drive better decisions."
He said Nigeria has signalled national intent to harness this power through a formal national AI strategy that sets priorities for inclusive, ethical, and economic uses of AI.
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