The initiative is designed to train 10,000 young African talents in artificial intelligence, digital technology, and media technology by 2030.
In his opening remark on Wednesday, Akitunde Babatunde, CJID executive director, emphasised the need for students to think critically to develop digital solutions that can solve real-world problems.
Babatunde noted that some of the world’s most transformative tech platforms, including Facebook and Google, started as university projects.
He said CJID will donate laptops to outstanding students to support them with the necessary tools needed to scale their initiatives.
“Some of the world’s most transformative tech platforms, like Facebook, Google, even the internet itself, began as university projects,” Babatunde said.
“This initiative is part of CJID’s AI Campus Network and our broader commitment to training 10,000 tech talents across Africa by 2030.
“We are not just hosting events, we are nurturing the ecosystem for Africa’s next wave of innovators.”
Ramat Alabi, one of the participants, expressed happiness over the opportunity given to the students by CJID to build tools that have the potential to improve the lives of people.
Alabi noted that her team is working to develop GradLink AI, a platform that offers university students personalised career advice, access to internships, scholarships, and job opportunities.
She added that for the hackathon, her team will develop BiasLens, an AI tool capable of detecting bias in a news headline to help in the fight against misinformation.
Sadiq Teslim, another participant and student of UNILAG, said his team is building AgroScan, an AI tool that helps farmers detect plant pests and diseases early using image-based diagnostics.
Teslim added that, for the hackathon, his team will require funding and support to scale their idea of developing VeriFact, a fact-checking tool to help journalists fight mis/disinformation.
Other tools presented during the event include LagBuy, a smart shopping platform connecting Lagos buyers to trusted sellers across multiple categories and JournalAIse, an AI-powered assistant for journalists that automates content creation.
The initiative, in collaboration with the institution’s Google Developers Groups on Campus (GDGoC), will award the winning team at the end of the hackathon with a prize of N500,000.
There will be a N300,000 prize for the first runner-up and N200,000 for the second runner-up.
