Kenyan University educators are urging an immediate assessment of current infrastructure in higher education institutions to enable smooth integration of artificial intelligence in classrooms and research. This was a primary conclusion drawn from a workshop organized by the Microsoft Africa Development Centre (ADC) in collaboration with the Kenya Education Network (KENET), aimed at exploring AI’s potential to enhance teaching, learning, and research in higher education.
Ai’s significance
During the event, Managing Director of Microsoft ADC, Catherine Muraga, highlighted the significance of AI in the changing educational environment and advocated for private-private and public-private partnerships as crucial means to address existing infrastructure deficiencies.
“It was a fruitful workshop with academics, policymakers, researchers, and partners such as KENET. One of the most important considerations for universities is the availability of infrastructure for collecting and storing local data, which can then be used to train AI models for use in education and research. The government, which can provide significant assistance in areas such as technology-related skilling, is one of the larger players that must also be engaged.” says Muraga
Event’s key focus areas
The workshop’s discussions centered around four key themes: the necessity for AI skill development, enhancing pedagogy through research, the role of AI in research, and the infrastructure needs to expedite AI adoption.
In his remarks, Executive Director of KENET, Prof. Meoli Kashorda commends universities for their advancements in enhancing AI-related infrastructure. He also advocated for increased funding and innovation to enhance capacity for AI adoption in academia.
“AI tools are already being used by some students and lecturers. At this point, we must consider how AI can be made available to everyone in higher education. The challenge is that it demands more AI infrastructure, which requires significant resources. We need huge investments in AI infrastructure so we can start to apply it in research at scale.” says Prof. Kashorda
While recognizing AI’s potential in education, educators emphasized the importance of continuous professional development opportunities to ensure they possess the necessary skills to integrate new technologies into their teaching methods.
Infrastructure development
Additionally, discussions focused on the importance of responsible AI development that promotes inclusivity. According to the experts, this will necessitate investment in collecting, sorting, storing, and processing datasets derived from African settings. They also advocated for the development of policies and guidelines governing the use of AI in educational institutions.
“As KENET, we have provided funding to develop case studies on the use of AI in teaching computer science. This will be expanded to demonstrate the power of AI in other disciplines. We believe that these case studies will help convert the opinions of higher education leaders into policies promoting AI adoption in universities.” adds Prof. Kashorda
The workshop will conclude with the publication of a whitepaper on AI and its applications in different aspects of higher education. This document will address challenges and provide recommendations for promoting widespread adoption in universities and colleges. It is part of a series of initiatives launched by the Microsoft ADC aimed at enhancing technical skills within and beyond the technology ecosystem.
 

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