Researchers from the Responsible AI Lab made a significant impact at the Deep Learning Indaba 2025, Africa's premier artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning conference. The team, representing the College and the Lab, demonstrated KNUST's growing leadership in developing cutting-edge, locally relevant technology solutions for the African continent.
The delegation, comprising PhD students Amina Salifu and Albert Dede, and Research Assistant Julliet Arthur, contributed to the conference at the highest levels. Their participation underscores the College of Engineering's commitment to fostering research excellence and creating global partnerships that address real-world challenges.
Amina Salifu, a PhD candidate, was a featured panellist in a discussion on African datasets, where she presented her research on capturing the diverse accents of Ghana. Her work ensures AI technologies are inclusive and reflective of local linguistic realities. The pinnacle of her contribution was receiving a competitive award for her dataset—a significant honour that recognises the quality and importance of research from our institutions.
Amina Salifu presented a poster on a novel Natural Language Processing (NLP) model she developed to detect native and non-native English speakers, explicitly focusing on Ghanaian accents. Her work exemplifies the College's focus on innovative research with both local and global applicability.
Albert Dede, another PhD candidate from the College, was selected to serve as a judge for the conference's poster presentations. This role, which involved evaluating 10 projects from across Africa, is a testament to the international recognition of our students' expertise and the high calibre of training they receive at KNUST.
Julliet Arthur engaged in strategic discussions at a high-level roundtable with the Canadian High Commissioner and partners of the Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) programme. She also visited the Transformative Artificial Intelligence Research and Innovation Lab (TAIRI) in Kigali, exploring collaborative opportunities in applying AI to sectors critical to Africa, such as agriculture.
During this visit, Prof. Damien Hanyurwimfura, Principal Investigator of TAIRI, expressed a strong interest in formalising collaborations with the RAIL lab, highlighting the potential for joint research that can drive technological advancement across the continent.
Their accomplishments on an international stage not only bring pride to the College but also firmly position Ghana and the College of Engineering as a central hub for responsible and transformative AI research in Africa.
