“I grew from writing code to data policy. I trace everything back to Data Science Africa.”
- Morine Amutorine, Africa Sandboxes Forum Lead at the Datasphere Initiative.
- Category: 10 at 10: Voices of Data Science Africa
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When I started out, I was just a software engineer trying to write cleaner code. Data, policy, AI weren’t part of my plan. But life has a way of changing direction and for me, that turn began with Data Science Africa (DSA).
“Data Science Africa taught me anything is possible”
- Tejumade Afonja, Co-founder of AI Saturdays Lagos and PhD researcher at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security and Saarland University, Germany.
- Category: 10 at 10: Voices of Data Science Africa
- Hits: 41
I first saw the call for the Data Science Africa (DSA) summer school back in 2017. At the time, I was just finishing my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Lagos in Nigeria, dabbling in front-end software development, and teaching myself Python and machine learning. I had no computer science background, no idea what the future held. But I knew I wanted to learn and to grow.
“Data Science Africa expanded my horizons.”
- Segun Adebayo, Associate professor and director of digital services at Bowen University.
- Category: 10 at 10: Voices of Data Science Africa
- Hits: 37
I work as a researcher at Bowen University in Nigeria, specializing in electrical and electronics engineering and AI. When I started my PhD in 2015, I was fascinated by how AI could be applied to improve agricultural productivity and over the years, my research has expanded into robotics and applied AI.
“Data Science Africa is the future.”
- Lighton Phiri, Lecturer and Researcher at The University of Zambia, African AI Research Awards 2022 recipient.
- Category: 10 at 10: Voices of Data Science Africa
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I always thought I would become an electrical engineer, but in 2001, the internet was just arriving in Zambia, and I got hooked on computers instead. That curiosity led me to a bachelor’s in Computer Science in 2007, a master’s in South Africa in 2011, and eventually a PhD at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Today, I’m a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zambia and the founder of the Data Lab Research Group.