2026 · The AI & Robotics Edition
A free, hands-on day of hardware, AI and robotics for university students and young professionals.
Co-organised by ITL Makers Hub, ByteAfrica and the ACity Robotics Club.
On stage
To be announced
Keynote · 09:15
How human creativity and critical thinking work alongside AI, and what that means for careers across healthcare, agriculture, finance, education and manufacturing.
Speaker to be announced
To be announced
Panel · 09:50
How AI-integrated hardware, from wearables to IoT, and the data behind it are powering the next wave of African-built startups. Panellists come from startup, hardware, AI, data and IoT backgrounds.
Panellists to be announced
11:00 – 13:00 · Pick one
Each session is introductory and hands-on. You choose one when you register.
Speech-to-text and text-to-speech models, with a microphone as the input. The aim is local languages.
What you will do
Speak to a model, watch it respond, and see it run offline in a live demo at the end of the day.
Runs on a Raspberry Pi 4B or Jetson Nano
Collect sensor data, then use tiny ML to get real insight from it instead of relying on simple “if” statements.
What you will do
Build an interactive project with the micro:bit's accelerometer, motion sensors and screen. No prior experience needed.
Uses micro:bit with Bluetooth
Electronics, 3D printed designs and assembly, with plenty of wiring and putting printed parts together.
What you will do
Work in a team to assemble a two-wheel drive robot from 3D printed parts and Raspberry Pi Pico boards.
Shared robot sets, taught by ITL Makers Hub
Saturday 28 November
Timings are provisional and will be confirmed closer to the day.
08:00 – 09:00
Registration and exhibition walk-through
09:00 – 09:15
Opening ceremony
09:15 – 09:50
Keynote: The Fifth Industrial Revolution
09:50 – 10:35
Panel: Built, Not Just Coded
10:35 – 11:00
Networking break
11:00 – 13:00
Breakout sessions: Local Language TTS & STT, IoT & Edge AI, Hands-On Robotics
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch and exhibition
14:00 – 14:45
Partner lightning talks
14:45 – 15:05
Special announcement and closing remarks
15:05 – 15:30
Group photo and networking
Free entry. Pick your session when you register.
Register for 2026