Host Institution

Namibia University of Science and Technology

Schedule

• 13 Jul 2023
• Opening Ceremony Registration -08:30 – 09:00 Participant Registration.
• Official Welcoming Remarks - 09:00 – 09:10 Dr Erold Naomab: Vice- Chancellor, Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST).
• Remarks - 09:10 – 09:15 Ms Kombada Mhopjeni: National Programme Officer for Natural Sciences (UNESCO Windhoek Office).
• Remarks - 09:15 – 09:20 Mr Nawa Likando: Head of Digital Transformation and Innovation (MTC).
• The future of AI landscape in Namibia: A policy perspective - 09:20 – 09:45 Dr Stanley Shanapinda: Chief Executive Officer (Telecom Namibia Limited)
• Vote of Thanks - 10:15 – 10:30 Dr Erling Kavita: Executive Director: ADS and Satellite Campuses, NUST.
• Tea Break - 10:30 – 11:00 +15 Networking Break
• Keynote – 11:00 – 11:30 Automatic radio galaxy classification and synthetic image generation using a Variational Autoencoder Dr Kushatha Ntwaetsile: Software and Data Processing Engineer (Botswana International University of Science & Technology).
• Technical Talk – 11:30 -12:00 Introduction to AI/Machine Learning Mr Venick Mashuna: Senior Data Scientist | RPA Developer, Bank of Namibia.
• Panel Discussion – 12:00 – 13:00 Towards an AI Strategy for Namibia: Creating an enabling environment for AI Advancement
• Lunch – 13:00 -14:00 +30 Networking
• Keynote– 14:00 – 14:30 Artificial Learning: From Machine Learning (ML) to Federated Learning (FL) Prof. B. Antoine Bagula | (University of the Western Cape)
• Workshop 1– 14 :30 – 16 :30 Workshop on Robotics
• Workshop 2 – 14:30 -16:30 Workshop on Robotics Kitten coding software (CODEMAO) demo.
• Workshop 3 – 14:30 -16:30 Building Tech We Trust: Coming together to ensure digital safety and responsible data collection & use in Namibia
• Poster Sessions – 16:30 -17:00
• IndabaX – Social – 18:00 -20:00 Village Market Restaurant
• 14 Jul 2023
• Welcome Remarks - 08:45 – 09:00 Prof Guy-Alain Zodi: Associate Dean: School of Computing, NUST.
• Keynote – 09:00 – 09:45 Latest advances in AI: from ChatGPT to multimodal LLM • Internals and applications of ChatGPT • Other Large language models (LLMs) Prof Ndapa Nakashole: Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of California (San Diego)
• Technical Talk – 09:45 – 10:15 Natural language processing for under-resourced African languages Dr David ADELANI: DeepMind Academic Fellow, University College London (UCL).
• Tea Break - 10:15 – 10:30
• Technical talk – 10:30 – 11:00 Application of AI/ML Paradigms in the Namibian Transportation Sector: Status Quo and Opportunities Dr Robert Ambunda: Transportation Specialist & Senior Lecturer, UNAM.
• Panel Discussion – 12:00 – 13:00 Namibia-specific applications of LLMs
• Lunch - 13:00 -14:00 +30 Networking Break
• Technical Talk – 14:00 – 14:30 Integrating Core ML with ARKit: Enhancing Augmented Reality Experiences with ML Ms Audrey Chanakira : Lead iOS Developer · Green Enterprise Solutions (Pty) Ltd and Zim Developers co-founder.
• Hackathon/ Startup Competition Presentation - 14:30 – 16:00 Hackathon Teams.
• Demonstration – 16:00 – 16:30 Document Summarisation using NLP Mr Tangeni Shikomba: Backend Software Engineer, USA.
• Awards Ceremony - 16:30 – 17:00 • Opening Remarks by Acting DVC: RIP. • Announcement of Hackathon winners. • Announcement of poster winners.

List of Speakers