Students Not Expected to Fail in AI Era, Says Dean of Physical and Earth Sciences

By Okereke Ngozi, Bankole Dolapo, Adebayo Adebola, Opeodu Morayoninuoluwa, Adebisi Bolarinwa 

The Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences, Professor Olayinka Asekun, said artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly transformed the learning experience by giving students more tools to leverage.

In an interview with UNILAG Sun, she noted that the advent of AI has reshaped the traditional approach to learning, adding that students can now easily access resources online that may not have been taught in class.

According to Asekun, students are not expected to fail in this period, as AI allows them to simplify difficult courses, study independently, and prepare better for examinations.

“In our own days, if we don’t read our textbook that we look for in the library, or they teach us in class, we can’t pass,” she said.

“But students can easily pass now.

“This is because you can just ask AI. It will tell you, and then you learn it.

“Also, you can check YouTube and listen to any topic you like or even type the lecture topic.”

Asekun noted that different seminars and webinars are being organised for students and lecturers in the faculty, to improve their knowledge on the use of digital space to perform better and empower them on the way forward.

“Apart from using digital space more, we also want students and lecturers to be versed in it due to the way the world is going,” she said.

“That’s the future. We have to be futuristic.”

Speaking on the faculty’s relevance to Nigeria’s educational needs, she noted that the course covers every physical aspect of the sciences, like geophysics, mathematics, statistics, physics, and chemistry, adding that it has diverse job opportunities for students. 

Asekun said that she was the first female and last dean of the Faculty of Science,  and now the first dean of Physical and Earth Sciences. 

She said the milestone marked a great accomplishment in her tenure, adding that she wants to be remembered as a dean who transformed lives and laid a solid foundation.