The DAAD hosts Consultative Meeting ahead of establishment of a Centre of African Excellence for Applied and Responsible AI in Kenya
Present at the meeting were Dr. Erik Hansalek, Head of Section for Cooperation with Africa and the Middle East at the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR); Prof. Thomas Dimpfl, Professor of Data Science in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Hohenheim; Lars Gerold, Head of Section, Development Cooperation, Institution Building in Higher Education at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); and Dr. Ruth Fuchs, Senior Desk Officer for Institution Building in Higher Education at the DAAD headquarters in Bonn.
Kenyan participants included Prof. Mike Kuria, CEO of the Commission for University Education (CUE); Prof. Prof. Eng. Peter N. Muchiri, Vice Chancellor of Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT); Prof. Kamau Ngamau, Vice-Chancellor of the Cooperative University of Kenya; and Prof. Mwenda Ntarangwi, Vice-Chancellor of USIU-Africa.
Other institutions represented were Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenyatta University, Strathmore University, the University of Nairobi and Tharaka University.
Opening the meeting, Dr. Dorothee Weyler, Director of the DAAD Regional Office in Nairobi, underscored the significance of launching an AI initiative in Nairobi, noting the rapidly expanding and transformative role of artificial intelligence globally.
This meeting kicked off a four-day scoping visit, setting the stage for the call for proposals to be launched in April 2026 and the project’s anticipated start in January 2027.
