The 4th International Engineering Conference (I.E.C 2023) has ended at the Federal University of Technology Minna with a re-enforced acknowledgement of innovation as the key pilot to contemporary development.
In a communique issued at the end of the 3-day conference which held at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)-I.C.T HUB at F.U.TMinna, Engineering and Technology practices were identified among the arrowheads for economic growth as they enhance and enrich human livelihood, animal wellbeing and environmental sustainability.
The theme of the conference which pulled participants from across the academia, industry, and regulatory agencies within and outside Nigeria was “Smart Engineering and Technology Innovation for Enhancing Economic Growth”
Participants emphasized that economic growth would transcend to economic development, provided there are deliberate research and informed policies from the government that will lead to the hatching of new breakthroughs in technological advancements.
The conference enjoyed robust inputs from diverse perspectives including Precision Agriculture Data Analytics, Wireless Sensor Networks, Green Energy, Tele-medicine, Cryptocurrency, E-banking, Industry Standards, Electric Vehicles, Carbon Capture and Storage as well as Biotechnology among others
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of F.U.T Minna, Professor Faruq Adamu Kuta who doubled as the host of the conference dwelt on the concept of industrialization and encouraged participants to proffer ideas for the actualization of the ‘Industry 4.0’ objectives in Nigeria and Africa at large.
According to the 2020 World Economic Report on Jobs forecast, 85 million jobs are likely to be substituted by 97 million new roles by 2025 to cope with surging demand for Industries driven by Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The manufacturing industry is set to realize 3.7 trillion USD from Artificial Intelligence by 2035.