Big Data Africa School 2026

The 2026 Big Data Africa School started on Monday, 5 October 2026, in Cape Town, marking the 6th edition of the popular initiative hosted by SARAO.

At this year’s school, 26 students from Botswana, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia and Zambia are being hosted, and they are undertaking projects in the thematic area of Machine / Deep Learning and Novel Quantum Computing Techniques applied to Medical Imaging.

For a third consecutive year, the Big Data Africa School has again managed to achieve gender parity, and the packed agenda for the school includes introductory lectures in data science, quantum computing for medical imaging, quantum ML, responsible/ethical AI, and many invited talks to expose this year’s cohort to the range of research opportunities in applying advanced computational techniques to medical imaging.

During the week, students will work on five exciting projects exploring the intersection of AI, machine learning, deep learning, quantum computing, and medical imaging.

Project 1 focuses on Self-Explainable AI vs. Post-Hoc Explanations: Interpreting AI Decisions in Medical Image Classification; Project 2’s aim is to determine Disparities in Demographic Performance for AI Medical Imaging Applications; Project 3 drills down into Novel Biological Insights Using Quantum Computers; Project 4 works on Medical Image Reconstruction: Developing Data-Driven Priors for MRI Using Generative Deep Learning; and Project 5 looks at AI/ML for Prognostic Biomarkers in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

The students are supported throughout the week by mentors with expertise in AI, medical imaging, quantum computing, and biomedical research. Students will present their final project outcomes on Friday, 9 October 2026, during which a winning project will be selected.

For more information, visit the SARAO website: https://lnkd.in/dmUuVAUk