An Artificial Intelligence agency under Kenya’s Office of the Special Envoy of Technology dubbed ActionLab, has committed to work with the Technical University of Kenya (TU-K) in areas such as machine learning, big data, start-ups and market-driven innovations to place the country in the global AI technological growth. A delegation from ActionLab who visited TU-K revealed that the a collaboration between the two institutions would open-up several opportunities for students and staff undertaking research and innovations at various levels in AI and data-related fields including industrial placements.
Ms Pauline Kanana, the Design Lead at ActionLab said the cooperation would benefit students through research fellowships; both locally and internationally, participation in innovation competitions and hackathons that would be scaled to bridge academia and market demands.
She also noted that, through research mesh, TU-K would be part of a consortium and eco-system of local and international universities, research institutions and government entities spearheading AI in governance, demographics, climate and the SDGs, Geo-politics among other key pillars in socio-economic development.
Ms. Kanana was accompanied by Michael Michie, Infrastructure Lead together with Stephanie Kasaon who is a Safety Lead at the ActionLab.
Michie explained that the collaboration would also give access of up to 1.1 TB of Graphics Processing Units (GPU) compute to students undertaking research including masters and Ph.Ds, adding that the data would otherwise be expensive to access.
Kasaon at the same time said ActionLab would also accommodate students and lecturers in undertaking industrial practice in AI safety tests.
The ActionLab is mandated to strengthen Kenya’s competitiveness in emerging technology adoption and advance its digital transformation, even as the country takes on pioneering role in technology in African continent.
Prof. Alfred Orina, DVC, Research and Technology Development, who received the delegation from ActionLab, said TU-K would be interested to collaborate with the institution in the upcoming TU-K Innovation Week. The two parties will later on work on an MoU to guarantee a long-term engagement.
Also present during the collaboration discussion were Prof. George Amolo, Ag. Executive Dean Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology (FAST), Dr. Lydia Olaka, Chairperson, Department of Physics, Earth and Environmental Sciences (DPEES), Dr. Jane Oteki, Dr. Christine Omumbo, Dr. Robert Onyancha, Dr. Michael Atambo and Dr. Lewis Sitoki from the Department.
