Together with the University of Dodoma, NM-AIST will be hosting an Artificial Intelligence (AI) laboratory in a three-year project hosted by the Canadian-Swedish programme Artificial Intelligence for Development in Africa (ai4d). The research lab shall look at AI’s role for infrastructure, healthcare, the digital economy, environmental conservation and agriculture, among others.
The two Tanzanian institutions of higher learning successfully applied to the call that was published early last year and will therefore host the Anglophone Multidisciplinary Research Lab. The it will be physically located at the University of Dodoma in the Tanzanian capital. The partners launched the project to establish the lab on 24 January 2022 and the launch ceremony was recorded for YouTube:
The goal of the initiative is to amplify African AI talent, research, and innovation. The lab will develop and implement a locally relevant, multidisciplinary, and responsible AI4D research agenda, nurture local talent that responds to the capacity requirements of the public and private sector, develop associated AI4D academic courses, trainings, and curriculum, and broker alliances among the academic, industry and institutional communities. They will serve as resource centres for the development of the next generation of AI4D scholars and practitioners in the continent.
The Artificial Intelligence for Development in Africa is funded by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).