by EVE RUWOKO
If Africa wants to tap into the benefits of the digital economy to
address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), at
least 5,000 PhD scholars in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI)
and machine learning must be cultivated over the next five years,
according to Professor Tom Ogada, executive director of the African
Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS).
AI enables the creation of tools that can help different sectors predict
future challenges and create solutions through research, and the world
is rallying behind the application of AI to find and improve solutions
in sectors such as health, agriculture and climate action.
“Our institution has done a situational analysis to identify the skills
that will be needed to grow the digital economy and we established that
there is an existing skills gap in Africa at all levels, from secondary
school, through university up to doctoral level,” Ogada said.
According to the findings of the technology and innovation think tank
(ACTS), progress in AI research and development has been slowed, in part
by limited funding opportunities for academics, as well as by a lack of
adequate data resources and infrastructure at universities across the
region.
An opportunity for PhD students
Through a new initiative, early-career academics and post-doctoral
researchers across the continent can apply for grants to conduct their
research.
The project, called The Artificial Intelligence for Development in Africa (AI4D)
scholarship programme, is funded by the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC), the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and other partners.
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