Anicia Peters

“A decolonisation project is concerned with how researchers, wherever located, might contribute to dismantling and re-envisioning existing power relations, resisting past biases, and balancing Western heavy influences in technology design.”

“So, strategies for infusing HCI into curriculum involve changing the conversation, For example, we integrated HCI into our core curricula through courses such as design thinking. I think the best approach to evangelize HCI throughout Africa is to jump on the 4th Industrial Revolution bandwagon and integrate HCI with new emerging courses such as AI, Machine Learning and Data Science, and Cybersecurity. So, we are developing the newly hyped programs with HCI integrated.”

“HCI is less well known now than a decade ago and that students graduating with degrees in HCI end up being unemployed due to the lack of recognition for the importance of this work.”

“We need a fundamentally new way of skilling people. We can take our unemployed youth and put them through fast-paced, project-based “bootcamps”. I don’t believe in purely theoretical training anymore. A project-based approach where they learn just-in-time skills by working on real-world projects is ideal.”

“Our challenges are not unique to our region. Many parts of the world will face similar pressures. Resource constraints create challenges that require innovative solutions, and this is what we are here to do.”

“Innovation priorities span artificial intelligence, precision agriculture, digital health, and building telecommunications infrastructure – with plans for an “AI Institute” to upskill youth and export virtual AI capabilities.”