A committee has already been constituted to coordinate the process of developing a curriculum and put in place the necessary structures to actualize the idea.
The AI4D Africa Scholarship network has started the process of launching a new master’s degree programme on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Initially, the programme will be offered in a few universities affiliated to the AI4D Africa project.
The decision was reached during the AI4D Africa PhD Summer school held in December 2022 in Mombasa, Kenya. It brought together supervisors and students from 22 universities drawn from 18 African countries.
A committee has already been constituted to coordinate the process of developing the curriculum and put in place the necessary structures to actualize the idea. The committee is chaired by Prof. Fasikaw Zimale from Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia. He will be deputized by Dr. Sonia Semedo from the University of Cape Verde. Each university in the network is represented in the committee.
The committee has been meeting virtually on Wednesday since January 2023. So far, the work group has reviewed curricula from 6 universities, and they resolved to adopt the curriculum from Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NMIST) as it was found to be the most comprehensive out of the samples reviewed.
Through a document sharing platform, each member of the workgroup has been assigned a section to work on; progress is discussed and monitored on a weekly basis.
Although AI and ML has a steep learning curve, it would be important to create a training programme for ML for students who have graduated in other fields to be equipped with knowledge and skills on machine learning.
This would help achieve the goal of creating 500 scholars on AI and ML every year for ten years that will be sufficient to develop solutions in these areas to drive sustainable development in Africa.
A decision will be made on whether the course will be offered virtually or in-person. The courses will also be offered in modular form that allows for flexibility and will have a strong private-sector collaboration component.
