The era of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has arrived, and African universities must embrace this new reality to stay at the forefront of educational innovation.

These were some of the thoughts shared at the recent Fully Online Distance Education Symposium (FODES) hosted by the Comprehensive Online Education Services (COES) at the University of Pretoria (UP). The symposium, held from 19 to 20 October 2023, brought together academics, learning designers, e-learning specialists and others exploring the transformative power of online education and the impact of emerging technologies on learning.

Professor Linda van Ryneveld, Director of COES, the office responsible for UPOnline, was one of the speakers who addressed the more than 100 delegates from across Africa and beyond who gathered virtually for this annual symposium. “We all have a passion for education, and we all have a passion for technology. And when you bring those two together, we know that magic happens,” she said. “I think we are in for a bit of a ride with artificial intelligence and all the capabilities that the new technologies bring along.”

AI is not a fleeting trend

This sentiment was echoed throughout the symposium, with participants reiterating that AI is not just a fleeting trend but a transformative force in education.

Renowned e-learning expert Dr Philippa Hardman delivered a keynote address that examined the future of online learning and the intelligent use of artificial intelligence. Dr Hardman, an affiliated scholar at the University of Cambridge who is credited with designing the University of Oxford’s first and most successful Massive Open Online Course, told participants that AI is becoming more powerful even as more and more people gain unprecedented access to it.

Delegates gathered virtually for the annual Fully Online Distance Education Symposium (FODES) hosted by the Comprehensive Online Education Services.

She said AI's role is not merely to automate existing processes, but to augment them. By utilising AI to enhance teaching and learning, educators can provide more personalised, efficient and effective educational experiences, Dr Hardman continued.

“A lot of people ask me am I going to lose my job, or you're going to lose yours? Well, we don't know. However, to me, if we focus only on automation, if we only just use AI to automate what we already do, then of course there is a risk that the human becomes replaced by the machine. However, it’s much more ambitious. If we think about how we can use AI to augment what we do, then humans become more important than ever. So, humans are, in my view, in the post-AI world, more important than ever.”

“I think the language around AI, the conversation that we're having at the moment, very much puts the power of AI in the hands of AI. But actually it's a tool for our use. And we as humans make decisions about how we use it, how we build it, how we regulate it.”

Reshaping Africa’s academic landscape

Representatives from universities across Africa shared their experiences and insights, highlighting the remarkable potential that AI offers in reshaping the academic landscape on the continent.

Dr Paul Birevu Muyinda, Director of the Institute of Open Distance and e-Learning at Makerere University in Uganda, said AI has allowed his institution to adapt and evolve. Dr Muyinda described the shift from traditional, contact-based learning to a blended approach, and how distance education modes have gradually transitioned to fully online platforms. “Makerere's journey highlighted the role of online learning in democratising education by enabling institutions to reach a broader and more diverse student population,” he said.

Dr Ralitsa Debrah, a communication designer from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana who is also a member of the eMERGE Africa team, emphasised the need for educational institutions to not only embrace emerging technologies but also devise effective strategies to integrate them seamlessly with pedagogical methods.

Embracing AI

“The technology has really come to stay,” Dr Debrah said. “And fighting it will not really help us as educators. We have to embrace it and find appropriate strategies to align that with pedagogy to be able to address the ever-changing challenges with our teaching, to ensure that we provide quality education for all in various institutions. It's not only about the technology, but how to use it, manage it, and bring everybody on board.”

The consensus among the symposium's participants was clear: AI is here to stay, and it should be wholeheartedly embraced to propel African universities into the next era of education.

View and listen to the discussions below: