The technological revolution is proceeding fast, every day we see new interesting applications. The communication between humans, machines and their constant communication through the Internet is becoming increasingly interconnected. Two major tendencies which are changing the world around us are Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). While IoT produces sensor data, AI will help interpret this data in a comprehensible way and twill make semi-automated decisions for controlling certain physical processes. If we take a look at the world’s investment and strategic plans on AI, governments are putting a lot of effort in the development of AI systems, to find relevant applications and to get their knowledge up to an excellent level, not to be left behind. The increased competitiveness of countries worldwide is becoming apparent for those who do invest in creating linkages between government, business, and academia in this field.
This is equally important for Africa. There are a number of initiatives in African countries, but the real challenge is to get the African biggest companies to adopt AI for their business processes. This calls for the development of an AI ecosystem that will lower their development costs, help create AI-applications tailored to local needs, and reduce their dependence on foreign companies. In addition, the African AI-ecosystem could position itself as an attractive partner for global digital giants keen to enter the African market.
The aim of the AHUMAIN-project is to connect diverse specializations together in one consistent curriculum, tailored to the East-African situation and societal problems, to establish a hybrid engineer who has in-depth knowledge in all the different aspects and can connect these parts together to a useful and commercially viable system. At the same time we focus on real-life applications of AI, operational deployment and business cases, to break away from the theory and give way to practical applications.