Maseno University participates at the Nyanza International Investment Conference held at Ciala Resort Kisumu
The Nyanza Professionals Forum is an Association of distinguished professionals from the region with over 30 years of reputable experience in the Public and Private Sector, offering their expertise to support development as a way of giving back to the community. The Forum has a reach of over 2,000 members comprising professionals from the Nyanza Region in Kenya and in the Diaspora.
The objective of the Conference is to unpack the region’s development needs and match them to investment opportunities prioritized in the Blue Economy, Agribusiness, Health Care, Mining, Construction, Affordable Housing, Carbon Offsetting, and Creative Arts sectors, among other relevant sectors. The conference’s approach aligns with the government's Agenda relevant to the region, Kenya’s Vision 2030 Master Plan, the Lake Region Economic Block priorities, and County Integrated Development plans for the six participating Counties.
The Vice-Chancellor Maseno University Prof. Julius Nyabundi is one of the panelist at the Education and the Creative Economy Session.
The following are the Innovations and Technologies being showcased:
AI4KSL: A project focused on developing AI technology for Kenyan Sign Language to facilitate communication for the deaf community in Kenya. Currently, this AI technology supports quadlingual text translations: Dholuo, English, Kiswahili, and KSL gloss, with a signing avatar.
PROACTED – AI-Driven Course Recommender, Academic Performance Monitoring, and Intervention Model: Its objective is to improve student retention rates in higher education institutions. It first recommends the best course for a student upon joining the institution, then continuously monitors the student's progress throughout their studies. It provides personalized intervention when needed.
SURE FOOD: A mobile application that combines machine learning and nutrition optimization to provide users with personalized meal plans based on individual profiles and food preferences. It helps track calorie intake and integrates locally available food items along with their prices.
AFRICAN NEXT VOICES – Pilot Data Collection in Kenya: This is a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)-funded data collection pilot program in Kenya. It aims to collect speech datasets in five of Kenya’s most spoken languages: Dholuo, Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Maasai, and Somali.
At the Fisheries and Aquaculture stand we are showcasing endangered and threatened fish species native to the Lake Victoria Basin.
Some of the fish are Synodontis, Labeo, Lungfish (Kamongo), Haplochromines and Mastacembelus sp.
The Aquaculture team also displayed Black Soldier Fly (BSF) products including BSF powder, BSF oil and BSF organic fertilizer ( frass)