Kenya Session
- Nairobi Safari Club (Lillian Towers)
- May 19, 2023
- 9AM – 4PM (lunch provided)
- Cost: FREE
South Africa Session
- Radisson RED Johannesburg, Rosebank
- June 12, 2023
- 9AM – 4PM (lunch provided)
- Cost: FREE
Both sessions are limited to 40 in person participants each, on a first come, first served, basis once the registrations open. Online participation is also available. Indicate your preference during registration.
Emerging Digital technologies and X-Data is an emerging domain of technical, social, and economic significance. The post COVID 19 recovery period, knowledge management, electronic payments, automated customer experience platforms, consumer products, durable goods, robotic, process automation, industrial and utility components and other everyday products and services are leveraging on emerging digital Technologies (EDT) and X-Data.
Emerging digital Technologies (EDT) and X-Data rely on increased Internet connectivity and powerful data analytic capabilities that have transformed the way we work, live, and play today. The two also raise significant challenges that could stand in the way of realizing their full potential and benefits thereof. News about cyber threats, surveillance concerns, and privacy fears already have captured public attention. Technical challenges remain and new policy, legal and development challenges are emerging.
This one-day course is designed to help researchers and innovators working with and developing applications based on EDTs and X-data
Main Topics Covered
- EDT and X-Data applications
- Features, fundamentals, applications
- Key issues in leveraging EDT/X-Data based applications for socio-economic development
- Intellectual property, commercialisation, data protection and privacy, gender equity, social inclusion
- EDT/X-Data applications for socio-economic development – National strategies
- Importance and development of a national strategy
Facilitators
Prof. Patrick Ogao, PhD, is an accomplished researcher with at least 20 years’ experience in information visualization, visual analytics and informatics. He has worked with research institutions – including public and private universities in Kenya, Uganda, and The Netherlands. He has been the Chair of the Information Systems Department at Makerere University in Uganda; Director of School of Computing and Information Technology at the Technical University of Kenya; and Head of ICT, and pioneering Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at KCA University. He has also been the Long-Term ICT Expert and Project Manager at the International Office of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
At the moment, he is working on establishing a Centre for Digital Transformation at KCA University. The Centre will focus its research on digital transformation adoption in higher education Institutions – for optimal resource investment in business returns, and value addition.
He is widely published in refereed journals. Further, he has taught, supervised, and mentored post-graduate students in geoinformatics, bioinformatics, data analytics, and software engineering. He is a (professional) member of the ACM; IEEE; Geospatial Society of Kenya; Association of Computing Practitioners in Kenya; and the Geo-Visual Analytics Chapter of the Commission of the International Cartographic Commission (ICA).
Prof. Ogao holds a doctorate in Geoinformatics (Utrecht University, The Netherlands); Master of Science degree in Geoinformatics (ITC, University of Twente, The Netherlands),; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Surveying and Photogrammetry (University of Nairobi, Kenya).
Professor Muthoni Masinde is an accomplished academic with over 25 years of experience in teaching and academic leadership. She holds a BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Computer Science from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, and the University of Cape Town, South Africa, respectively. Additionally, she has an MBA from the University of the Free State, South Africa.
Muthoni is currently a Professor and the Head of the IT Department at the Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa, as well as the Founder and CEO of ITIKI (Information Technology and Indigenous Knowledge with Intelligence).
As an established computer science researcher under South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) category C2 rating, Muthoni has made significant contributions in the fields of artificial intelligence, specifically in the sub-fields of Artificial Neural Networks and Internet of Things. Her research on the application of these technologies in developing drought prediction tools for small-scale farmers has had tangible socio-economic impacts on the farmers. She has published over 100 scientific publications and supervised several postgraduate studies. Muthoni has also received recognition for her work, including winning DST’s 2016 Distinguished Young Woman Scientist and being a recipient of USD500,000 funding from USAID under the Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for development.
Muthoni’s research on the use of Indigenous Knowledge and ICTs to predict droughts has gained international recognition and invitations as a guest speaker, expert advisor, and reviewer from across the globe. This includes an invitation in 2018 to a panel of experts at the World Bank Food Security Forum in Washington DC, as well as being a regular Research Topic Editor for Frontiers journals under artificial intelligence and droughts thematic areas. Additionally, her expertise has led her to be contracted as an expert by the European Commission on more than 15 projects in two thematic areas: the Internet of Things and Climate Change. Muthoni has also given talks, seminars, and keynote speeches at various universities, research institutions, and conferences and has had media appearances on eNCA, CNN, Voice of America, and the BBC World Service, including a TED Talk.