Avinash Meetoo

Let us build a Smart Mauritius together

Science

How to Embrace Artificial Intelligence in Academia and the implications for universities

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On 12 July 2023, I gave a keynote presentation on “How to Embrace Artificial Intelligence in Academia and the implications for universities” during a workshop on “Artificial Intelligence and AI Text Generators such as ChatGPT” organised by the University of Technology, Mauritius.

I spoke about Research & development perspectives for academics and on the need to solve big and real problems instead of having fun with toys. I spoke about the need for more collaborative work, on the optimal use of technology and innovation as catalysts of development and on how technology and AI can be used in education.

There are many structural problems in Mauritius such as the fact that the population is ageing, that there is a lack of workforce and talent at all levels, and I put a lot of emphasis on the immense role universities have to play in creating the workforce of tomorrow and the future. Or else…

I also briefly touched upon jobs in entertainment which will abound in the future because of the amount of leisure time we have now.

There were many people attending, among which a lot of academic and non-academic staff of the University of Technology, Mauritius. There were also people from the education sector but from other institutions as well as a few foreign students.

The feedback I got at the end was very positive.

Dossier de Radio One sur l’Intelligence Artificielle à Maurice

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I participated in a radio programme on Artificial Intelligence and its benefits for Mauritius on 27 June 2023. This was during “Le dossier de Radio One”.

Here are some extracts of the radio programme where I speak about the recently launched Government chatbot, jobs of the Future in Technology and in Entertainment for our young people and how to properly train them, on the possibility for Mauritius to become No 1 in the world for a specific technology and, finally, on the proper way to do that, by adhering to a vision and being focused and methodical.

How emerging technologies can contribute to create a Smart Mauritius (and smart jobs) during the National Science Week 2023

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Today, I gave a talk on “How emerging technologies can contribute to create a Smart Mauritius (and smart jobs)” on the last day of the National Science Week 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre. In the audience were high-school (college), their teachers as well as some university students. It was a great experience for me and (I hope) for the audience too.

I spent 30 minutes explaining how Mauritius aspires to become a green, inclusive and high-income country by 2030 and, for this to happen, we need to fully understand and embrace emerging technologies. A priority is to have a critical mass of trained people in IoT (Internet of Things), Databases and Blockchains, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. This can be achieved both through our education system but, on a shorter term, by attracting foreigners and members of the Mauritian diaspora. Of course, we also need to put in place proper knowledge transfer mechanisms for our young people. I wanted to convey that “If we think big, we’ll achieve big” and also that young productive and innovative people are needed for the country to progress.

I really enjoyed the half-day workshop and the other presenters too (Nishtee Gopee, Dr Kaleem Usmani and Dr Suraj Juddoo).

A big thank you to those who have worked hard to make the National Science Week 2023 a success at the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre, starting with Mrs Ellora Mishra-Dhunnoo, Chairperson, Dr Aman Maulloo, Director, Hemraj Ramsurrun, Manager, Ashley Purhooa, Senior Resource Officer, and all the other staff members. Already looking forward to next year.