{"id":4898,"date":"2026-08-03T13:04:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T13:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/air.ug\/?p=4898"},"modified":"2026-08-03T13:05:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T13:05:50","slug":"makerere-university-hosts-data-science-africa-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/air.ug\/?p=4898","title":{"rendered":"Makerere University Hosts Data Science Africa 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From 20\u201324 July 2026<\/strong>, Makerere University welcomed hundreds of students, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and industry leaders from across Africa and beyond for Data Science Africa (DSA) 2026 Kampala<\/a>; one of the continent’s premier gatherings for data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosted at Makerere University, the event combined a three-day Summer School with a two-day research Workshop, creating a vibrant platform for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and collaboration around the latest developments in AI and data science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makerere University Centre for Artificial Intelligence (Mak-AI)<\/a> was proud to contribute to an event that reflects our mission of advancing AI research, education, and innovation for Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year’s theme, “Foundational and Practical Data Science in the Age of Generative AI,”<\/strong> underscored the importance of strengthening core data science skills while equipping researchers and practitioners with the knowledge needed to responsibly develop and deploy modern AI systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building AI Capacity for Africa<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Across five days, participants engaged in lectures, practical sessions, keynote presentations, panel discussions, and peer-reviewed research presentations covering topics such as: Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) , African Language Technologies, AI Evaluation and Responsible AI, MLOps and AI Deployment among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme reflected the growing maturity of Africa’s AI ecosystem, with a strong emphasis on practical solutions designed to address local challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research That Speaks to African Contexts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The DSA 2026 Workshop showcased peer-reviewed research from across the continent, highlighting innovative work in machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, healthcare, agriculture, climate science, and responsible AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers presented work grounded in African realities, reinforcing the importance of developing AI systems that are representative, ethical, and capable of addressing the continent’s unique opportunities and challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mak-AI’s Contribution<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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As Makerere University<\/a>‘s Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Mak-AI played an active role in supporting the successful delivery of DSA 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the Centre contributed to event organisation, technical sessions, participated in panel discussions, and helped facilitate conversations around responsible AI, AI governance, and practical AI applications for Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event also provided an opportunity to strengthen partnerships between researchers, universities, industry, and development organisations committed to advancing AI capacity across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Powered Through Partnership<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

DSA 2026 Kampala was made possible through the collective efforts of local and international partners committed to advancing AI research and education in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mak-AI’s participation in DSA 2026 is supported through the AI for Development (AI4D) Africa<\/a><\/strong> program, which continues to strengthen research excellence and AI capacity across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the conversations continue beyond Kampala, Mak-AI remains committed to advancing research, developing local talent, and building partnerships that ensure AI serves communities across Uganda and Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From 20\u201324 July 2026, Makerere University welcomed hundreds of students, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and industry leaders from across Africa and beyond for Data Science Africa (DSA) 2026 Kampala; one of the continent’s premier gatherings for data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Hosted at Makerere University, the event combined a three-day Summer School with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[11],"class_list":["post-4898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs"],"authors":[{"term_id":11,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"airlab","display_name":"airlab","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33e54dec0cd79fc4b5e911c15f836c46ec8d0e452ecd3ca5f707bce0a3540a3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"http:\/\/airlab.local","job_title":"","description":""}],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/air.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSA-Kampala-2026.png",996,580,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/air.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSA-Kampala-2026.png",996,580,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/air.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSA-Kampala-2026.png",996,580,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/air.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSA-Kampala-2026.png",150,87,false],"medium":["https:\/\/air.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSA-Kampala-2026.png",300,175,false],"large":["https:\/\/air.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSA-Kampala-2026.png",996,580,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/air.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSA-Kampala-2026.png",996,580,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/air.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSA-Kampala-2026.png",996,580,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"airlab","author_link":"https:\/\/air.ug\/?author=1"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Blog Posts<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"From 20\u201324 July 2026, Makerere University welcomed hundreds of students, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and industry leaders from across Africa and beyond for Data Science Africa (DSA) 2026 Kampala; one of the continent’s premier gatherings for data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. 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