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ISBAT University’s hacking competition, sponsored by Total Energies, aimed at identifying suitable locations for electric vehicle (EV) charging points in Kampala.

The government of Uganda has been encouraged to implement a policy on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and associated developing technologies.

According to Dr. Henry Semakula, an artificial intelligence instructor at ISBAT University, this will assist control the business, safeguard the country from misuse, and assure the standards of innovations generated using AI.

“Everything requires regulations to function properly.” We’re in serious trouble if we don’t set boundaries and rules. “This technology has the potential to cause us harm,” he stated.

AI is a branch of computer science that focuses on developing computers and software that can accomplish activities that would normally need human intellect.

Problem-solving, learning from experience, interpreting natural language, identifying patterns, and making judgments are examples of these activities.

AI is currently being utilized to power autonomous vehicles in several Western countries.

“You can’t allow technology and expect developers to self-regulate.” “We need a special council of experts to study it and draft legislation,” he stated.

He stated that AI is altering every aspect of the globe, including medical, commerce, transportation, and real estate, among others, and that Uganda can use AI to grow the country.

“What humanity took decades to solve can now be done in months.” As you can see, the amount of time, effort, and money saved by AI is remarkable. “Whatever we do, the future of AI is bright,” he remarked.

On October 19, ISBAT University announced the winners of this year’s hacking competition at the University’s Kampala campus.

The competition, sponsored by Total Energies, aims to discover best sites for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points in Kampala.

Participation

Over 400 Ugandans applied to take part in the challenge, which ran from July to September 2023.

The competition was accessible to Ugandans aged 18 to 45 who can work with data science tools or software development and can create groups of four people.

The teams were also mentored and coached before submitting their ideas to a panel of judges.

The applications were evaluated using a variety of factors, including concept innovation, team makeup, presentation, and business fit.

Four ISBAT students from the Department of Artificial Intelligence finished second in the competition, earning $3,000 (Sh11.1m), while TBKN took first place, earning $5,000 (Sh18.5m).

Kumar Pradeep, the university’s head of academic affairs, said of the achievement, “We thank our professors who have shown dedication and are empowering our youth to change the world through technology.”

“Our ability to reinforce the STEM (Science, technology, engineering and math) education model across all programs regardless of nomenclature, sets our students on a path to transformation to global employment and entrepreneurial market.”

“We are very happy,” said ISBAT winner Robert Higenyi, “because we were using our talent to help Ugandans by applying our knowledge.”

“It was a great experience and we were happy that we were able to utilize what we learned in class to solve a problem.”

According to Philippe Groueix, General Manager, TotalEnergies EP Uganda, the project is part of TotalEnergies’ aim to install 150,000 electric vehicle charging stations worldwide by 2025 and to manufacture higher-performance batteries to assist electric mobility (e-mobility).