DAAD announces €6.5 million for AI research and sustainable infrastructure centres in Kenya and Ghana

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has selected university partnerships in Kenya and Ghana to establish two new centres of excellence aimed at strengthening research, higher education and knowledge transfer in sub-Saharan Africa.

Announced on Oct 12, the initiatives will focus on applied and responsible artificial intelligence (AI) in Kenya and sustainable infrastructure development in Ghana. The projects have secured approximately €6.5 million in announced funding from Germany's Federal Foreign Office and Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

German and Kenyan universities to establish responsible AI centre

The first centre, called Applied and Responsible Artificial Intelligence for Society and Environment (ARAISE), will be led by the University of Tübingen in Germany, in partnership with three Kenyan institutions: Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Maseno University.

The centre will bring together research, teaching and training in AI, with an emphasis on applications addressing environmental challenges, public health and social participation.

Planned research includes the use of AI in health research and developing solutions to improve water supply and climate adaptation. The participating universities also intend to establish joint research groups and develop master's-level teaching and training programmes focused on responsible AI use.

The project will receive around €2.3 million from Germany's Federal Foreign Office and nearly €1.9 million from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space through the end of 2031.

DAAD said the initiative would strengthen academic cooperation between Germany and Kenya while encouraging dialogue on the opportunities and risks associated with AI.

Ghana centre to focus on land governance and infrastructure

The second initiative, the Centre of Excellence for Customary Land Governance and Participatory Planning for Sustainable Infrastructure (LandGAPPS), will be developed by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

The centre will focus on traditional land rights, participatory spatial planning, geographic information systems, land administration and sustainable infrastructure development.

German and Ghanaian experts are expected to work together on practical approaches to building resilient infrastructure and sharing research findings with stakeholders in both countries.

Planned activities include joint curricula, doctoral research support, academic mobility programmes, digital teaching and the development of lasting research infrastructure between the two universities.

Germany's Federal Foreign Office will provide approximately €2.3 million for the centre.

DAAD programme aims to strengthen African higher education

The two centres are part of the DAAD's Centres of African Excellence programme, which supports academic training and research capacity at African universities, particularly through partnerships with German institutions.

The programme also seeks to connect universities with government, business and civil society, while encouraging the practical application of research findings.

DAAD President Joybrato Mukherjee said the two centres addressed issues important to Kenya, Ghana and Germany, adding that international cooperation was needed to develop shared solutions in AI and sustainable infrastructure.

The new partnerships will bring together universities and research institutions to develop specialist training, expand collaborative research and strengthen the transfer of scientific knowledge into practical applications.