HIGHLIGHTS

FOR SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER

Greetings from DSAIL!

We hope this newsletter finds you in good spirits and health. We are excited to share with you the latest updates and accomplishments from the months of September and October. The DSAIL community has been busy with various activities and collaborations, and we are eager to bring you up to speed on our recent endeavours.

CONFERENCE

IEEE AFRICON

The DSAIL Research team as a whole, delivered conference paper presentations and tutorial sessions at the 16th IEEE Africa (2023) International Conference. Taking place between 20th and 22nd September this year and hosted by Kenya School of Monetary Studies, the conference was centered around the theme “Advancing Technology in Africa Towards Presence on the Global Stage”. At the conference we got an opportunity to showcase our work in conservation technology. The tutorial sessions were training and discussion sessions that brought out the details of some of our projects’ methodologies. Above all, the conference was an ideal place to interact and exchange ideas with researchers from different parts of the world. We would like to thank KENET for the registration grant and be sure to check out our conference papers and tutorial sessions on our website and IEEE Xplore.

CONFERENCE

Leeds-Africa Conference on
Data Science & Artificial Intelligence

In a recent development, our director, Ciira Maina, was privileged to receive an invitation to present at the Leeds-Africa Conference on Data Science and AI across mathematics and sciences. During his engaging presentation, he delved into the intriguing realm of "Gaussian Processes for Spatial Anomaly Detection." His talk illuminated the profound impact of employing Gaussian Processes in the detection of anomalies within spatial data. Gaussian Processes serve as potent mathematical instruments, facilitating the detection of unanticipated or irregular patterns within spatially distributed data, rendering them indispensable for a wide spectrum of scientific and practical applications.

WORKSHOP

Tech4wildlife

At DSAIL, we are heavily involved in rolling out outreach programs. These programs aid in creating interest in young minds interested in data science, IoT and Machine Learning. At these events, we also get to showcase what is possible with open-source technology and get to exchange ideas with other researchers. As part of our outreach efforts, DSAIL hosted the DSAIL TECH4WILDLIFE workshop on 14th and 15th September at DeKUT. The program was in collaboration with Wildlabs and Fauna & Flora. During the event, we were exploring how AI can be used to aid in conservation efforts. Judging by the positive feedback we got, the event was a huge hit and we look forward to the next.

PARTNER

Amini Group Visit

In the month of September, the Amini Group – one of our major researcher partners – paid us a visit. Amini is a Kenyan start-up focused on being the source of credible African environmental data. During the visits we discussed the intersections between our research activities in conservation technology and some of the projects they are undertaking. We would like to thank the Amini Group CEO Kate Kallot and also the Amini members for their continued support.

PARTNER

Mugie Conservancy Visit

At DSAIL, we greatly value our research collaborations and partners, currently we work with various organizations and institutions on different projects and we are actively looking for more collaborators and funders. Recently, we started working on a conservation-Tech project with a team of researchers and conservationists from Mugie Conservancy in Laikipia County, Kenya. To kick off the partnership two researchers from DSAIL, Yuri and Lorna together with the director Ciira Maina got an opportunity to visit Mugie Conservancy. They got a tour of the area and also got to discuss our camera trapping project.

DEVELOPMENT

Legume Centre for Excellence in Food and Nutrition

Due to the recognition we have gained and the work we have done over the years, Jason Kabi and Gabriel Kiarie – researchers at DSAIL- were invited to attend the LCEFONS (Legume Centre for Excellence in Food and Nutrition Security) stakeholders’ forum at AICAD in JKUAT. At the event, there were discussions on how to utilize data science, analytics and IoT in the domain of food and nutrition security. We would like to thank Prof Stephen Kimani – JKUAT for the invite.

DEVELOPMENT

Google DeepMind Scholarship for Muhinyia wa Ndegwa

Last and certainly not the least, we would like to congratulate Muhinyia WA Ndegwa, one of our research interns, on receiving a Google DeepMind Scholarship for his MSc in Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London. He is embarking on postgraduate studies to build upon his BSc in Computer Science pursued at Kirinyaga University. The team at DSAIL wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavours.