Raesetje Sefala is an amazing human being. I thoroughly enjoyed our Sunday afternoon cuisine and tour of the huge University of Ghana’s Legon campus (my family’s association with that campus dates back to when my grandfather moved there in 1952), in #Accra, #Ghana’s capital. Raesetje is an AI Research Fellow at The Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) and doctoral student at McGill University in #Montreal, #Canada. Her research focuses on creating ground truth datasets and using machine learning and other computational social science techniques to study the effects of spatial apartheid in South Africa, post-Apartheid. Her previous work involved partnering with various stakeholders and using machine learning techniques to study poverty and traffic safety in the urban parts of Nigeria and Jakarta, respectively. She holds a computer science undergraduate and master's degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She has been technically involved in different complex data science projects from around the world and her expertise range from creating ground-truth datasets, building machine learning models, analyzing and evaluating results for real-world problems with a societal #impact. Ms. Sesfala has been in Accra facilitating the annual 10-day African Computer Vision Summer School (ACVSS) which aims to connect eager African students with prominent computer vision experts while imparting essential principles, ethical considerations, and the latest techniques in the field of computer vision. I’ve offered free consultation (lol) to add a good dose of #leadership thought and skills so these bright young people not only work IN systems and structures but get to work ON them as well, especially when and where #change is needed. Raesetje rocks‼️ @thehudgroup @itconsortium_gh @PerbiParadigms @perbiexecutive

For 10 unforgettable days, @ACVSS_AI brought together an incredible group of students, researchers, and world-class lecturers to learn, exchange ideas, and push the boundaries of computer vision. From inspiring keynote talks and deeply engaging lectures to the hackathon, late-night discussions, and conversations over lunch, every part of the experience was thoughtfully designed to challenge and inspire us. Beyond the technical knowledge, I gained something even more valuable: new friendships, mentors, collaborators, and a renewed excitement for AI research. A huge thank you to the organizers, speakers, lecturers, mentors, volunteers, and every participant who made ACVSS such a special experience. Special thanks to @bonjora, @anuragarnab, Raoul de Charette, @deeptigp, @zamir_ar, @henokademtew, @AdamKortylewski, @AmrMAlameen, @wellingmax, and many others who so generously shared their knowledge and experiences And beyond the classroom, I got to experience the warmth of Ghana, learn more about its rich history, and even play Kwame Nkrumah's piano - a moment I'll never forget. 🇬🇭 Here's a glimpse of an unforgettable 10 days. ❤️

Had a heartfelt experience teaching and interacting with a group of 30 outstanding African students as part of @ACVSS_AI acvss.ai/. I was beyond impressed with the depth of their questions, their interest in pursuing research, and their kindness and generosity!