REPOSITIONING NIGERIAN POLYTECHNIC CHEMISTRY PROGRAMMES FOR THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR EMBEDDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE CURRICULUM

The emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) is fundamentally altering the landscape of the global chemical sector through automation, cyber-physical infrastructures, machine learning, and data-intensive approaches to discovery. These shifts have generated an acute need for professionals who can function effectively at the convergence of chemistry, computation, and digital technologies. In contrast, Nigerian polytechnics (institutions constitutionally tasked with cultivating mid-level technical expertise) continue to operate largely conventional, content-saturated chemistry curricula that show little correspondence with these evolving workforce expectations. This conceptual study set out to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) could be systematically woven into the chemistry curricula of Nigerian polytechnics as a means of equipping graduates for Industry 4.0. By triangulating scholarship on AI in education, chemistry pedagogy, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and Industry 4.0 workforce requirements, the paper constructed a conceptual architecture for curriculum integration and evaluated four distinct integration pathways: the supplementary, embedded, dual-track, and fully reformed models. The analysis also interrogated the structural, human-capital, infrastructural, ethical, and policy-related obstacles that impede AI uptake within Nigerian polytechnics, while delineating the Industry 4.0 capabilities that chemistry graduates must command—namely data literacy, computational reasoning, digitally mediated laboratory competence, and AI-supported problem resolution. The study concludes that a staged, context-attuned integration approach—anchored in purposeful policy reform, lecturer capacity building, industry collaboration, and deliberate investment in digital infrastructure—is indispensable for sustaining the relevance of Nigerian polytechnics. Concrete recommendations are advanced for curriculum authorities, institutional managers, and industry stakeholders.