Tech for a better future! UNILAG DVC encourages students to harness innovation

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Foluso Lesi, on Thursday urged students to intensify  problem solving with technology to advance the society.

Lesi gave the task at the Hack for Health Hackathon grand finale organised by the National Information Technology Hub (NITHUB) at UNILAG.

Starreporters correspondent reports that the event had the theme: ‘Bots, Brain and Bandage’.

Lesi noted that the NITHUB Hack for Health Hackathon focused on innovation in health technology.

He said that the competition provided platforms for students to develop technological solutions and collaborate on innovative ideas.

He  commended the competitors for efforts, urging that they should commit to finding technological solutions to advance Nigeria. 

“We know that the future belongs to this generation, and we can make a difference.

“Talking about the theme Hack for Health, I am speaking from the point of view of a doctor.

“I know that currently, given the size of Nigeria and the number of health professionals across the city, there may not be enough of us across the city to make that difference.

“This is where technology bridges that gap because even in the remotest areas, diagnosis and  access to healthcare can remain possible through artificial intelligence.

“Think of any problem, whether in diagnosis, interpreting results and images, particularly in things like radiography, where you can take an image, send it somewhere else and analyse it.

He said he was proud to be associated with the event.

According to him,  the teams in the competition were multi-disciplinary.

“That is good because you cannot be talking about solutions without bringing together diverse perspectives.

“It is when you have diverse perspectives in addressing any problem that you will get the most robust solution.”

Lesi said there were 400 teams which applied for the hackathon, adding that 200 teams were selected and the best 10 made it to the grand finale.

Dr Victor Odumuyiwa, the Director of NITHUB, UNILAG, said the programme was aimed at  encouraging problem solving  through the use of technology.

“Two things informed this programme. Number one is: we want to solve African problems and number two is: we want to use a new technology in solving the problem, which is Artificial Intelligence.

“The final teams came from different states, eventually scaling down to the last 10. 

“We also have some from UNILAG. It is a programme targeted at the whole ecosystem, not just UNILAG.

“We plan to make the competition yearly. I mean, this particular one. There are other hackathons but this particular one, we plan to make it yearly,” he said.

Starreporters reports that Project Theia came first in the competition, winning 2,500 dollars.

Team Castle came second and received 1,500 dollars, while Team Precision emerged  third and got  1,000 dollars.

NAN.