Rachel Charlotte Smith, Associate Professor at the Department of Digital Design and Information Studies, School of Communication and Culture, and Director of the Centre for Digital and Green Transformation in Cities and Communities (DIGTCOM) is one of the AU researchers with extensive experience of research collaboration in Africa.

The African continent is becoming an increasingly important geopolitical partner for Europe. This also has implications for universities, as many of the global challenges addressed through research require close collaboration with researchers across the continent. This includes areas such as climate change, food security and sustainable development.

AI and hydroponic growing tents

For almost ten years, Rachel Charlotte Smith has collaborated with the Namibia University of Science and Technology. Together, they explore alternative approaches to researching and designing new technologies with local communities in ways that are meaningful and relevant to the people who will use them.

"We should not come in and tell people in the Global South how they should use AI and digital technologies. We need more voices involved in shaping technology and in understanding what these technologies mean for the people who use them," says Rachel Charlotte Smith.

In the research project Participatory AI for Alternative Sustainable Futures, Smith works with researchers, students and local communities to explore how small-scale AI systems connected to specially designed hydroponic growing tents can support food production in places where water, electricity and food resources are scarce.

 The hydroponic tents, developed by researchers at Varsity College Durban in South Africa, make it possible to grow crops without soil and using only small amounts of water. Combined with small AI systems and automated technologies that regulate nutrients, air and water, the tents create favourable growing conditions for crops, enabling communities to produce food for both people and livestock despite increasingly extreme weather conditions.

"Together with rural communities in Namibia, we are exploring how these tents can become part of everyday life in environments characterised by intense sunlight, prolonged drought and limited access to electricity. We are investigating how knowledge of the technology, crop cultivation and the local socio-cultural context together shape the potential of these technologies in different settings," says Rachel Charlotte Smith.

The project also points towards a broader vision for the future.

"Our collaboration has shown that adapting digital technologies to local needs is a sustainable path forward. That is why we need to continue developing alternatives to one-size-fits-all Big Tech solutions," she says.

Expanding collaboration with African partners

The Africa Collaboration conference is an AU initiative organised by the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS) and the Faculty of Arts.

According to Søren Michael Sindbæk, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Africa has become an increasingly important partner for universities.

"When we reviewed AU's international collaborations last year, it was striking to see how many partnerships with African universities have emerged across all faculties. Many of these collaborations are still relatively new, and there is a clear need to bring people together to exchange experiences. By coordinating and highlighting these activities across the university, we hope to strengthen the new opportunities they create for research, education and innovation," he says.

Read more about the Africa Collaboration conference

The Namibia University of Science and Technology hosts the UNESCO Chair in Digital Technology Design with Indigenous People. Learn more about Rachel Charlotte Smith's collaboration with a chief from an Indigenous Namibian community.

Aarhus University is a member of the Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence, a network that brings together African and European universities to foster long-term research partnerships and shared knowledge development. 

Contact 

Rachel Charlotte Smith
Associate Professor
Department of Digital Design and Information Studies
School of Communication and Culture
Aarhus University
Phone: +45 26 17 18 40
Email: [email protected]