Research Results (ES) / Résultats de recherches (ES)
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Item Scoping the global digital learning ecosystem to help scale proven innovations(2024-01-31) Cueto, Santiago; Charvet, Estefania; Balarin, Maria; Saavedra, Mauricio; Villamil, Daniela García; Cajavilca, AlbertoItem Piloting the production and distribution of a low cost ‘protein and micro-nutrient rich cricket feed from food waste in Kampala (Food Waste-2-Cricket Feed) project(2023) Ssepuuya, Geoffrey; Mulondo, Patrick Kasanya; Nsiyona, Elsie; Nampala, Paul; Alowo, Jane FrancesSub-Saharan Africa is facing high levels of hunger and malnutrition alongside the highest growing population in the world, and a high annual per capita food loss/waste of 120 -170 kg. Our innovation is to use the increasing food waste by the increasing population to generate cricket feed for insect (cricket) protein production. This research has established: (i) that a daily production of 768 metric tons of food waste in Kampala; (ii) a processing protocol for converting food waste to a safe and shelf-stable cricket feed; (iii) that the developed feed (21 - 27 % protein) can support cricket growth and development similar to the conventional feed; (iv) a return on investment of 50.1 % for the developed feed compared to 11 % when farmers use their own feed.Item Teacher mentorship and support in Kenya : a desktop review(2023-08-13) Echaune, Manasi ; Maiyo, JuliusTeacher mentorship and support programmes enable teachers to engage in ongoing professional learning and develop required competencies. This exploratory study was designed to provide baseline information on existing teacher mentorship and support programmes in Kenya. The study sought to provide background information towards the implementation of participatory action research on the strengthening in-service teacher training (SITT) project funded by the International Development and Research Centre (IDRC). The study adopted an integrative and holistic approach that involved a review of government policy documents, circulars and reports, articles published in refereed journals and grey material to enable map existing teacher mentorship and support programmes in Kenya. The study sought to; describe the theoretical background of teacher mentorship and to document existing in-service teacher mentorship and support programmes in Kenya. Various in-service teacher mentorship and support programmes exist in Kenya. However, the majority of the programmes were funded and implemented by non-governmental organisations. The existing mentorship programmes were uncoordinated and lacked a follow-up mechanism, thus making them less effective.Item Increasing wheat production and productivity through science-based knowledge and innovations for a competitive wheat manufacturing value chain in Uganda(2023) Chemayek, B.; Baguma, C.; Wasukira, A.; Walimbwa, K.; Woniala, B.This presentation includes information on increasing wheat productivity in Uganda, including materials and methods and results of advance yield trials.Item Fractionation of Ugandan shea butter into commercial shea stearin and shea olein(2023-12) Omujal, Francis; Okullo, John Bosco Lamoris; Agwaya, Moses Solomon; Kirabo, Irene; Natukunda, SheillaItem Development of mass rearing tools and value addition for the Dessert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria Forskal) value chain in East Africa(2023-12) Ogendo, Joshua. O.; Nakimbugwe, Dorothy; Ssepuuya, Geoffrey; Obura, EvansItem Strengthening uptake of learning assessments in Kenya : a policy brief(2023-09) Owino, Samuel Otieno ; Mwanje, ShaylorItem Scaling education innovations : the case of school-based in-service teacher training model(2023-12) Fulgence, KatherineItem Monitoring and evaluation in project implementation of research grants at Uganda National Council for Science and Technology : a toolkit(2024-03) Ssebale, Steven ; Sempiri, GeofferyItem Trilateral research chairs initiative : final technical report(2023-02) Nyokong, Tebello; Scaiano, Tito; Amuhaya, EdithItem Future of AI4D : draft(2023-12) School of International Futures (SOIF)This research began with the clear objectives to create a framework for engaging with youth perspectives on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa, generate collective viewpoints on AI's potential trajectory in Africa, and strengthen the capacity of the AI ecosystem in the continent. The methodologies employed were designed to meet these objectives in a multi-phased process. This report summary represents the culmination of these research processes, presenting the proceedings and findings from these collaborative efforts. The result is a clearer sight of implications, stronger alignment around actions, and a holistic, systemic view of AI's unfolding story in Africa.Item The state of AI in Africa report 2023(2023) Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology LawAfrica is embracing Artificial Intelligence in ways unique to the continent and is by no means showing signs to slow down. This executive summary provides a brief overview of the report on the State of AI in Africa prepared by the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT). The report highlights the potential of AI technologies to transform various sectors in Africa, such as business operations, healthcare, education, legal and judicial services, and transportation. However, the report also identifies significant gaps in access to knowledge/information, data, education, training, and human resources necessary for AI development and adoption.Item Field-based recommender system for crop disease detection using machine learning(2023-04) Omara, Jonathan; Talavera, Estefania; Otim, Daniel; Turcza, Dan; Ofumbi, EmmanuelThis study investigates crop disease monitoring with real-time information feedback to smallholder farmers. Proper crop disease diagnosis tools and information about agricultural practices are key to growth and development in the agricultural sector. The research was piloted in a rural community of smallholder farmers having 100 farmers participating in a system that performs diagnosis on cassava diseases and provides advisory recommendation services with real-time information. Here, we present a field-based recommendation system that provides real-time feedback on crop disease diagnosis. Our recommender system is based on question–answer pairs, and it is built using machine learning and natural language processing techniques. We study and experiment with various algorithms that are considered state-of-the-art in the field. The best performance is achieved with the sentence BERT model (RetBERT), which obtains a BLEU score of 50.8%, which we think is limited by the limited amount of available data. The application tool integrates both online and offline services since farmers come from remote areas where internet is limited. Success in this study will result in a large trial to validate its applicability for use in alleviating the food security problem in sub-Saharan Africa.Item Inception Workshop Report, October 2023(2023-07) Bhattarai, Raj K.; Shrestha, Nirmita; Aryal, Ashma; Khatri, RajendraThe inception workshop for the project “Promoting Innovation and Inclusion in Growth Potential Enterprises: Evidence from Nepal”, funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, was conducted on 21 July 2023 in Kathmandu. The project aims at assessing the two key interventions: Micro-Enterprise Development for Poverty Alleviation (MEDPA), functioning under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) and the Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund (YSEF) managed by the YSEF Secretariat to ensure they achieve their intended objectives. In addition, it explores the genuine requirements of the growth potential entrepreneurs, either supported or not supported by the ISPs, and assesses whether and how the additional support services contribute to the growth of their business. The purpose of the workshop was to inform all stakeholders about the project and gather feedforward information for the potential intervention. Its primary aim was to create a collaborative environment for valuable exchanges of ideas and insights among participants and research team.Item Scaling quality teacher professional development : a case study of the Philippines(2023) Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development, Inc.Teachers play a vital role in creating a stimulating learning environment that fosters curiosity, critical thinking, and a lifelong love for learning. As the Global South continues to face challenges such as large student-to-teacher ratios, limited resources, and inadequate education quality, access to high quality teachers remains a barrier to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (quality education for all). Improvement of teacher professional development (TPD) is seen to enhance access to high-quality teachers. This presentation provides an overview of the project’s design, lessons learned, and key insights.Item The new wave of eHealth : AI and privacy concerns? A case study of Kenya(2023) Kitili, Joshua; Karanja, NatashaConsidering the sensitivity of the data that is used and the legal implications that arise, the following study looks towards assessing the rise of Kenyan AI eHealth platforms. Assessment here lies with interrogating whether there are privacy initiatives in place, if so, do the privacy initiatives adhere to the required national legal standards stipulated in strategic policies, acts of parliament and relevant international legal standards. In addition, the study will assess the efficacy of the privacy policies, here factors such as the structure and design will be considered. This will involve evaluating the comprehension of the privacy policies from the viewpoint of an average Kenyan and the barriers that limit comprehension (e.g., legal jargon, length of the policies...etc.).Item Scaling strategy for innovations aimed at data-driven school improvement(2023) Muzaffar, Irfan; Ansari, AmnaItem Testing the suitability of Marginal Distribution Sampling as a gap-filling method using some meteorological data from seven sites in West Africa(Wiley, 2023-10) Koukoui, Djidjoho R. R.; Mamadou, Ossénatou; Hounsinou, Miriam; Kounouhéwa, BasileMeteorological data are useful in many fields related to climate change studies and their use often requires them to be continuous. To date, marginal distribution sampling (MDS), which consists of filling a missing value with an average of the data that are found in similar meteorological conditions over a flexible time window, is widely adopted in the FLUXNET community. In this work, we evaluate the performance of MDS at diurnal and monthly scales for the incoming shortwave radiation (Swin), relative humidity (RH), vapour pressure deficit (VPD), air and soil temperatures (Tair, Tsoil) acquired across seven sites in West Africa. The criteria tested are the MDS's ability to (i) fill gaps while reducing the error rate, (ii) represent proper variability within data and finally (iii) ensure homogeneity between its output and original data.Item Geospatial-based climate variability analysis, in Central Ethiopia Rift Valley(Springer Nature, 2023-02) Liou, Yuei-An; Damene, Shimeles; Gebremariam, Ephrem; Mulualem, Getachew M.Climate variability has been a crosscutting issue across the globe, where the effect is more adverse in developing countries such as Ethiopia. The study aimed at investigating climate variability of Ziway Dugda and Dodota Woredas, Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia. The study has used 1983–2012, time series gridded data, field survey, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. The data were thoroughly processed and analyzed using combination of Geospatial technologies and descriptive statistics.