Applications are now open for the second Deep Learning Indaba which aims to strengthen the foundations of African machine learning and to increase the participation of African researchers in the field.
The pan-African event, supported by Google DeepMind, will take place at Stellenbosch University from 9-14 September 2018. Applications are open to all students, postdoctoral fellows, researchers, and industry professionals from across Africa and the world.
“We are particularly looking for people with a passion for machine learning, and who are committed to our mission of strengthening machine learning in Africa. Last year we had nearly 300 participants, and this year we are hoping to double that figure,” says Dr Willie Brink, an applied mathematician at SU and one of the organisers.
To date, Africa’s attendance and participation in the internationally leading machine learning conferences have been extremely low or virtually non-existent.
“It is critical for the future trajectory of machine learning and artificial intelligence, for the types of teams we build and problems we address, that this imbalance and lack of representation be addressed. Africans must be contributors, shapers and owners of the coming advances in machine learning,” says Shakir Mohamed, a South African research scientist at DeepMind.
Speakers
The list of confirmed speakers include Jeff Dean from Google, Moustapha Cisse from Facebook, Katja Hofmann from Microsoft, and Nando de Freitas from DeepMind.
The closing date for applications is 30 April 2018. There is no registration fee for students. Students may also apply for financial support for travel and accommodation.
