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📢 [🟢 OPEN CALL] Winter School Africa Forward

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Winter School Africa Forward
Five grants will be available to enable experts and PhD students from the Paris-Saclay ecosystem to take part in the Africa Forward Winter School, which focuses on the applications of artificial intelligence in the fields of health and medicine. Taking place from 16 to 20 November 2026 at KNUST in Kumasi, Ghana, this event will provide an opportunity to develop new scientific collaborations between Paris-Saclay and its African partners.

📢 [🟢 OPEN CALL] Winter School Africa Forward

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4 missions remaining to enable experts and PhD students from Paris-Saclay to take part in the Africa Forward Winter School!

 

As part of the Africa Forward Winter School, five missions will be funded to enable experts and PhD students from the Paris-Saclay ecosystem working on topics related to artificial intelligence in healthcare and medicine to take part in this international event.

Interested parties are invited to come forward as soon as possible. As the administrative procedures required to organise a mission to Ghana may take several weeks, it is recommended that you start the process as early as possible.

A new phase in the Africa Forward partnership

 

Organised jointly by RAIL-KNUST, the DataIA Paris-Saclay Institute, the ICP-CNRS-Paris-Saclay, the French Embassy in Ghana and the Institut français in Ghana, this Winter School forms part of the Africa Forward initiative, which aims to strengthen scientific cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence between France and several African countries.

It builds on the collaborations initiated in 2026 between the DataIA Institute and its partners in Ghana, notably through the FEF-AI4SD Conference held in Paris this summer.

Over the course of five days, participants will explore the challenges and applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare, share their work and expertise, and develop new international scientific collaborations.

 

Programme for the week

From Monday 16 to Friday 20 November, the week combines institutional sessions, scientific presentations on artificial intelligence for health, and exchanges between French and African teams.

Click on a day to see the detailed schedule.

  1. 09:00–09:30

    Welcome and registration

  2. 09:30–09:45

    Opening remarksDr D. Adjei

  3. 09:45–10:00

    Opening remarksProf. J.J. Kponyo

  4. 10:00–10:15

    Opening remarksProf. F. Hasford

  5. 10:15–10:30

    Opening remarksCOCAC D. Cothière

  6. 10:30–10:45

    Official group photo

  7. 10:45–11:15

    Coffee break

  8. 11:15–12:30

    FEF-AI4SD results: research25 minutes per partner

  9. 12:30–13:30

    FEF-AI4SD results: training and capacity building20 minutes per partner

  10. 13:30–14:30

    Lunch

  11. 14:30–15:15

    FEF-AI4SD results: entrepreneurship and private sectorKNUST only

  12. 15:15–16:00

    Communication and visibilityInnovation Spark

  13. 16:00–16:30

    Break

  14. 16:30–17:30

    Final FEF-AI4SD Steering Committee (COPIL)

  15. Evening

    Dinner

  1. 09:00–10:00

    Welcome and registration

  2. 10:00–10:05

    Welcome addressProf. J.J. Kponyo, Director of RAIL

  3. 10:05–10:15

    AddressVice-Chancellor, KNUST

  4. 10:15–10:25

    AddressH.E. D. Dime-Labille, Ambassador of France to Ghana

  5. 10:25–10:40

    AddressT. Dumont, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE)

  6. 10:40–10:55

    AddressN. Nilsson-Thiello, Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space (MESRE)

  7. 10:55–11:10

    AddressProf. J.J. Kponyo, Director of RAIL-KNUST

  8. 11:10–11:25

    AddressL. Tourny, Director of DATAIA Paris-Saclay

  9. 11:25–11:45

    Launch of the Winter School, programme overview and introduction to AI in healthSpeaker to be confirmed

  10. 11:45–12:00

    Official group photo

  11. 12:00–13:30

    Lunch

  12. 13:30–18:00

    Institution presentations and AI ecosystems

    1. FranceNational AI strategy and ecosystems, Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space — N. Nilsson-Thiello
    2. GhanaNational AI strategy — Prof. J.J. Kponyo, Director of RAIL
    3. FrancePresentation of DATAIA — L. Tourny, Director
    4. GhanaPresentation of RAIL — Prof. J.J. Kponyo, Director
    5. MoroccoPresentation of TICLAB — Prof. O. Karrakchou, Director
    6. EgyptNational AI strategy and presentation of UIE — Prof. S. Fayoumi, IR Deputy Director UIE
    7. South AfricaPresentation of the ACACIA Cluster — Dr T. Mohamed & Dr P. Otito Obanya
    8. KenyaNational AI strategy — Dr H. Muringi, KAVI-ICR
    9. BeninNational strategy and training policies — Dr W. K. Taba Chabi, UAC

  13. 18:00–19:00

    Break

  14. 19:00–21:00

    Gala dinner

  1. 09:00–09:30

    Welcome and registration

  2. 09:30–10:00

    GhanaTitle to be confirmedDr P. E. Adjei

  3. 10:00–10:30

    EgyptMedtwin: a Deterministic Multi-Agent Digital Twin Framework for Multi-Organ Chronic Disease SimulationProf. Fayoumi

  4. 10:30–11:00

    FranceHalo-nnuNET Medical Segmentation PipelinesDr D. Adjei

  5. 11:00–11:30

    Coffee break

  6. 11:30–12:00

    KenyaDiagnosing cancer with AIProf. Muringi

  7. 12:00–12:30

    South AfricaAutomatic detection and classification of lung cancer CT scansDr Mohamed

  8. 12:30–14:00

    Lunch

  9. 14:00–14:30

    BeninAI and Medical Imaging for the Early Detection of Ischemic Stroke: Approaches and Perspectives in the African ContextDr Taba Chabi

  10. 14:30–15:00

    MoroccoTitle to be confirmed

  11. 15:00–15:30

    FranceTitle to be confirmedDr Bravo

  12. 15:30–16:00

    Coffee break

  13. 16:00–18:00

    Laboratory visit to be confirmed

  14. Evening

    Dinner

  1. 09:00–09:30

    Welcome and registration

  2. 09:30–10:00

    BeninLet’s Build Trustworthy AI for Health in Africa: A Case Study of HIV Risk Prediction in South AfricaDr Gohouede

  3. 10:00–10:30

    KenyaDeveloping expertise in AI and ML for HPV research, therapeutic vaccine design and cervical cancer preventionDr Nthambi

  4. 10:30–11:00

    GhanaTitle to be confirmedDr Musah Ali Ibrahim

  5. 11:00–11:30

    Coffee break

  6. 11:30–12:00

    CameroonDigital Twins, IoT, smart irrigation, and crop monitoring in resource-constrained contextsDr Vachala

  7. 12:00–12:30

    CameroonSCANZOU project / UMMISCO: computer vision and deep learning (DeUNet architecture) for flood monitoringDr Nunmua Sontsa

  8. 12:30–14:00

    Lunch

  9. 14:00–14:30

    MoroccoTitle to be confirmed

  10. 14:30–15:00

    South AfricaReading order in noisy signalsDr Otito Obanaya

  11. 15:00–15:30

    FranceTitle to be confirmedDr Denebeye

  12. 15:30–16:00

    Coffee break

  13. 16:30–17:30

    Closing remarks and future cooperation

  14. 17:30–17:45

    Official group photo

  15. Evening

    Dinner

  1. 09:00–10:00

    Gathering and transfer to Kumasi city centre

  2. 10:00–12:00

    Visit to the Kumasi Royal Palace to be confirmed

  3. 12:00–13:00

    Participants’ departures and return travel

Provisional programme, updated 27 October 2026. Some titles, speakers and visits are still to be confirmed, and times may change.

Experts and PhD students from the Paris-Saclay ecosystem who wish to take part in the Winter School and be considered for one of the five funded missions are invited to get in touch as soon as possible with: Daniel ADJEI <daniel.adjei@universite-paris-saclay.fr>.

Practical information

Dates: 16–20 November 2026

Venue: KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana

Theme: Artificial Intelligence & Health

Paris-Saclay participants: experts and PhD students working on AI applied to health and medicine

Funding: 4 missions remaining