By Matthew Johnson

Education and technology leaders have called on African universities to urgently redesign computer science education, warning that the traditional “degree-to-job” pathway has collapsed amid shrinking employment opportunities and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, AI.

The call was made at a press conference announcing the VarsityMentor Generative AI in Computer Science Education Summit scheduled to hold in Lagos from February 18 to 20, 2026.

Speaking at the briefing, Obinna Anya, a Senior UX Researcher at Google working on enterprise cloud AI solutions, said African universities must abandon outdated colonial-era education frameworks and shift towards practical, problem-solving and entrepreneurial training.

According to him, insights from global hiring practices show that many leading universities in the United States now prioritise equipping students to identify real-world problems, build functional applications, package their skills effectively and communicate value to employers and investors.

“Our education system still assumes that once you graduate, jobs will be waiting for you,” he said. “That model worked in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the jobs are simply not there. When graduates confront that reality, the question becomes: what next?”

He noted that African students already possess strong foundations in mathematics, statistics, physics and chemistry, disciplines that underpin data science and AI, but often struggle to translate theoretical knowledge into practical solutions.

The three-day summit, which runs from Wednesday to Friday, will convene university leaders, policymakers and global technology experts to address the widening disconnect between academic training and labour market realities across the continent.

Organisers said unlike previous editions held in Ghana and Kenya that were largely student-focused, this year’s event is deliberately targeting universities and policymakers to create a multiplier effect.

Faculty members from multiple African countries gathered in Lagos for the summit, having earlier completed surveys and participated in virtual conferences to identify structural challenges in their departments.
They disclosed ongoing collaboration with the Generative AI Consortium at the University of San Diego, which delivered virtual classes to African faculty as part of preparatory engagements.

Also speaking, Valerie Ehimhen, a Technical Programme Manager at Google, called for coordinated investment in Africa’s computer science education ecosystem, urging the continent to move from being a passive consumer of AI technologies to an active creator of solutions tailored to African languages, cultures and socio-economic realities.

She urged universities and governments to embrace generative AI in redesigning curricula, assessments and teaching methods, while investing in critical infrastructure such as functional computer laboratories and improved student access to technology.

Addressing fears that AI could undermine academic rigour, Adekunle Adeyemi, a Site Reliability Engineer at Google, dismissed such concerns, describing them as a misunderstanding of technological progress.

“AI helps you compress months or years of work, especially in areas like literature reviews,” he said. “It doesn’t replace thinking; it redirects it. More importantly, we don’t just want students to use AI tools, we want them to build AI models.”

Organisers acknowledged Africa’s persistent infrastructure gaps and limited resources to fully equip universities with hardware and paid AI tools but stressed that awareness, advocacy and partnerships were critical first steps. They noted that some global technology firms are already offering free credits to universities, with discussions ongoing to expand access.

They further revealed that at least two to three students trained through earlier VarsityMentor programmes have gone on to establish startups, reinforcing the initiative’s emphasis on producing job creators rather than job seekers.

With projections indicating that Africa could account for one in every three people in the global workforce by 2040, speakers warned that failure to reform education systems could deepen unemployment and inequality across the continent.

“This is about the future of Africa,” one organiser said. “What are we going to do with the world’s largest workforce if we don’t prepare them with relevant skills?”

Government engagement featured prominently at the summit, with ministries of education invited to review research findings, interact directly with professors and appreciate the urgency of investing in digital and AI infrastructure.

Speakers stressed that Africa must build AI systems rooted in its own context, cautioning that technologies developed elsewhere often reflect foreign priorities and embedded biases.

“If we don’t build our own systems, others will build for us, and not necessarily for our needs,” a speaker said, adding that the summit marks the beginning of a long-term effort to reposition African education for a digital future.