Keynote Speaker/Lead Presenters
Lead Speaker.
Prof Puleng LenkaBula
Principal and Vice-Chancellor,
University of South Africa, RSA
Keynote Speaker.
Mathabo Nakene
Founder, MoodleMoot Africa Association with various African Universities and represents UNISA as the Chair and Secretariat
Lead Paper Presenters.
Professor Puleng LenkaBula
Principal/ Vice Chancellor University of South Africa (UNISA)
Lead Paper 1: Breaking Barriers: Access and Equity in African Education
(Track 1)
Prof. Francisca Oladipo
VC Thomos Adewumi University Oro. Kwara State
Lead paper 2: Integrating Future-Ready Skills into Africa’s Education System
(Track 2
Mr. Paul Ayim
Senior Partner, Digital Learning at Phillips Consulting
Lead Paper 3: Sustainable Transformation: The Role of Partnerships and
Technology (Track 3)
Panelists.
Dr. Adewala Adesina
University of Hull,
United Kingdom
Dr. Bwambale Rashid Ramadhan
Uganda Management Institute
Dr. Lukuman Bello
NOUN, Nigeria
Mrs. Zara Mala Bukar - Student ACETEL
Prof. Ebenezer Malcalm
Dean Ghana Technical and
Communication University
Prof Musa Abiodun Aibinu
VC Summit University,
Offa
Prof. Alex Makulilo
Vice-Chancellor,
Open University of Tanzania
Mr. Jimson Olufuye
Kontemporary Konsulting Ltd
Principal Consultant
Abuja.
Dr. Inuwa Kashifu
Director General National Information and Technology
Development Agency (NITDA) – Abuja.
Botswana Open University -Botswana
Botswana Open University -Botswana
Prof. Francis Egboghare
University of Ibadan,
Nigeria
Arc. Sonny S.T. Echono, FNIA
Executive Secretary Tertiary Education Trust
Fund (Tetfund).
Prof.
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
Prof. Christine Ofulue
NOUN,
Abuja
Dr. Fumilayo Dorherty
Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.
Catalyst IT Europe
Catalyst IT Europe
Dr. Lianne Keiller
Manager Learning Technology Systems. University of Stellenbosch
University of Stellenbosch
University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Catalyst IT Europe
Catalyst IT Europe
Mathabo Nakene
Strategic CIO and ICT Executive with over 20 years of experience leading multi-billion-rand digital transformation programs in higher education, aviation, and government. Proven record of delivering secure, scalable IT solutions aligned with national strategies and international governance standards. Trusted advisor to boards, with experience directing portfolios exceeding R1.5B and advancing service delivery through innovation, cloud migration, and enterprise-wide risk mitigation.
Experience
Current Role: CIO (Chief Information Officer) – University of South Africa
Role Description
- To provide leadership and strategic direction in the provisioning of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services in accordance with relevant legislation and in alignment with the Institution’s Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) and 2016-2030 strategy.
- Providing input into the University’s overall strategy
- Providing strategic direction and monitor the achievement of the Portfolio’s strategy aligned to the overall ODeL 2016-2030 strategy
- Overseeing the development, implementation and review of the Portfolio’s strategy, plans, policies, procedures, practices, processes, and systems.
- Chairperson of ICT Steering Committee reporting into various statutory committees
Read More...
Dates of Service: 01 March 2022 to Current
Annual ICT Budget: +- R 1,5 billion
Highlights:
• Oversee ICT portfolio exceeding R1.5 billion and have led a turnaround of underperforming digital
infrastructure, erasing recurrent systems failure culture.
• Stabilized mission-critical platforms, reducing Moodle Learning Management System (LMS)
downtime by 40%.
• Saved R26 million on internal ICT capacity optimization and platform modernization through the Moodle Learning Management System.
• Conceptualised, created and is implementing the Moodle Infrastructure Capability Development
and Management Framework, positioning UNISA as a leader amongst peers using the Moodle LMS at scale. Key benefits realised to date include 40% cloud cost reduction.
• Led the implementation of enterprise-wide cloud migration for Moodle Learning Management
System (LMS) authentication, improving resilience during national power outages.
• Directed national-scale eLearning system transformation, enhancing digital access across all
provinces by putting the Moodle Learning Management System at the core of “as-a-service” offering in teaching, learning, and research.
• Founded the MoodleMoot Africa Association with various African Universities and represents UNISA as the Chair and Secretariat.
• Thought leader in using Moodle Learning Management System in the digital platform ecosystem.
• Leading UNISA AI roadmap with AI policy in final consultation stages.
• Successfully and consistently enabled student registration processes; a calendar period
previously fraught with system failures since UNISA and TSA merger in 2004.
• Delivered over 80% of ICT Strategy targets to date, up from 20% in 2021, aligning with national
digital education mandates.
• Introduced cybersecurity policy and risk management practices, cutting residual ICT risk by 50%.
• Leading digital transformation through student experience interventions and process
optimisation focus.
• Pioneered incremental innovation using design thinking, product management, lean engineering,
and agile development.
• Created IT Commercialisation model with various software product experiments in progress.
Previous Role: Group Head IT Product Delivery Management – Airports Company South Africa
Lead, plan, direct and control all activities related to business analysis, programme and project management, solution design, change and release management, quality and test management and ensure alignment to the IT strategic roadmap.
Dates of Service: 01 October 2015 to 28 February 2022
Reason for Leaving: Looking for CIO or CTO role
Highlights:
• Digitally transforming customer experience resulting in improved passenger processing time – 10
eGates for immigration at Cape Town International Airport
• Collaborated with aviation regulatory bodies to implement ICT innovations in airport operations.
Achievements:
| Portfolio Manager: I have managed and transitioned over a billion worth of IT investment into ACSA operations during my tenure | Digital Transformation: I have delivered R 160 M of investment to move airport systems from analogue to digital platforms |
| Financial Management: developed and managed CAPEX and OPEX budgets for IT investments and reported monthly to the IT MANCO and Quarterly to the EXCO Committee (IT Steering Committee) and the Board Committee (ICT Governance Committee) |
Asset Management: ensured that IT assets are tagged, stored, and capitalised timeously |
| Enterprise Architecture: I consolidated solution designs into one platform that prioritises customer data, revenue generation and business continuity. | IT Governance: I created the Project Prioritisation Committee and by showing the importance of this portfolio management function, the IT Steering Committee has absorbed this into the remits of the Committee. I ensure that projects are categorised, and the prioritisation updated regularly through stakeholder engagement |
| IT Strategy: I shape the IT Investment Portfolio around the strategic objectives, key being customer experience and revenue diversification. The portfolio is an implementation vehicle that drives the pillars of the IT strategy: customer-driven solutions, infrastructure supporting identified solutions including software as a service, revenue assurance and customer omnichannel solutions. |
Vendor Management: I worked with supply chain to drive strategic sourcing using category sourcing. I was managing resulting contracts through SLAs and regular contract performance reviews and interventions. |
|
Professor Puleng LenkaBula
Professor Puleng LenkaBula is a South African Academic, a Professor of Ethics and the Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of South Africa. Unisa is the oldest and largest Comprehensive Open Distance Education Institute in the African continent and the progenitor of Higher Education in South Africa. LenkaBula holds a PhD in Ethics , and works on the intersection of Ethics, Economy, Ecology and Feminist theory. She has published in these areas and has also produced and continues to supervise Masters and Doctoral Candidates in these thematic areas.
Since her assumption of duty as the Vice Chancellor of Unisa in 2021, UNISA has registered multiple successes inter alia entailing:
1. Improving Unisa’s scientific and academic performance;
2. Enhanced Student Affairs and Services centering students access and success as integral imperatives for the University’s impact;
3. Improved academic and scientific rankings in multiple rankings such as Time Higher Education, QS Rankings and more, moving. In 2020/2021 when LenkaBula started as VC, Unisa was ranked No 12 to No 16 in many rankings and is now ranked No 6 to 8, ensuring that Unisa is one of the Top 8 Universities in the Country, from 12-16 , and national to 6-8 band;
4. She has led the talent management improvements in the recruitment of and improvement of the numbers of Academics with PhD, from 39 % in 2021 to at 67% in 2024;
5. Under her leadership, Unisa has procured over 850 hectares Experimental farm to strengthen Agricultural and sustainable development futures for Unisa, our country, and Africa’s knowledge into the future;
6. Equally, LenkaBula has led the strategic and prudent optimization and diversification of Financial investments of Unisa which has resulted in an increased sustainable investment value , an investment value aimed at promoting financial independence/and Resources sustainability.
7. She is committed to partnering with progressive knowledge /Science institutions, progressive Civil Society and Business in support of South Africa’s developmental futures, African contributions to the global development.
Dr. Lukuman Kolapo BELLO is a Lecturer in the Department of Educational Foundations at the Faculty of Education, National Open University of Nigeria.
He earned his Master’s degree (2011) and PhD (2018) in Educational Technology from the University of Ibadan. Currently, he serves as the Acting Director of the Directorate of Learning Content Management System (DLCMS) at the National Open University of Nigeria.
The DLCMS is responsible for creating, organizing, storing, publishing, and delivering interactive and engaging e-learning content. Leading the DLCMS team and collaborating with content experts, he oversees the delivery of over 2,000 courses across 120 programmes to 150,000 distance learners in Nigeria and beyond.
His research focuses on online learning, instructional design, and technology-enhanced education, with publications in reputable journals.
He is presently the Director of Directorate of Learning Content Management System (DLCMS) at National Open University of Nigeria.
With over a decade of experience in higher education, I have honed my skills in research, teaching and administration in Germany and Ghana. Having made the transition from an administrative role to a more academic position, I am now dedicated to pursuing my passion for research, while at the same time using my diverse background to make a meaningful contribution to the academic community.
Research
– As a Research Associate at the Centre for Open Education Research (COER), Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany, I conduct research on meso- and macro-level issues in the Open, Distance and Digital Education (ODDE) field, specifically investigating digital higher education at the intersection of digital transformation and the digital divide.
I am particularly interested in understanding how individual, organisational and exogenous factors influence the use of digital technologies in low-resource higher education contexts. Details of my research can be found here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=aXThuP0AAAAJ
– I have also worked on the project “Future Prospects of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education” (AIEd) funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony in Germany. The AIEd project takes a critical approach to analysing how different futures of artificial intelligence are imagined and aims to centre educators’ perspectives. See details here: https://uol.de/coer/research-projects/projects/aied
Teaching
Responsible for the following courses in the Master’s in Education programme:
(i) Educational Technology and the Digital Divide,
(ii) Understanding the Digital Divide in Education.
(iii) Teaching Assistant for Principles, Theory and Practice of Technology Enhanced Learning in the Online Teaching and Learning (OTL) programme of the Centre for Lifelong Learning (C3L).
Previous undergraduate courses taught at Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU), Accra, include Study Skills, and Principles of Management.
Recent Training Facilitated (DAAD Funded)
– UNILEAD Eastern Africa, held at Rongo, Kenya. 17 – 19 June, 2024
– DIES UNILEAD 2024 in Oldenburg. 1 – 30 April 2024. Delivered online.
Previous Experience
Before my current academic role, I held senior administrative positions at GCTU including
– Director of Ho Campus
– Head, Teaching and Examinations Department, Academic Affairs Directorate
Professional Membership
– Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Recognition reference: PR146740
Lecturer at Islamic University in Uganda, Uganda📖
Dr. Bwambale Rashid Ramadhan is a computer scientist, researcher, and educator specializing in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), IoT, and embedded systems. He has extensive experience in machine learning, pattern recognition, network security, and software development, contributing to both academic research and industry applications. Currently serving as the Deputy Dean, Faculty of Science, at the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), he plays a vital role in academic leadership, research supervision, and curriculum development. His work focuses on AI-driven cybersecurity, IoT applications, and ICT solutions for digital transformation.
Education Background🎓
- Ph.D. in Computer Engineering (Computer Science) – Eskisehir Technical University, Turkey
- Focus: Pattern Recognition, Text Analytics, Advanced Algorithms, Information Security
- MSc in Computer Science – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (CGPA: 4.0/4.0)
- Focus: Machine Learning, Secure Software Development, AI in Decision Systems
- BSc in Computer Science – International University of Africa, Sudan (Second Upper Class)
- Focus: Artificial Intelligence, Cryptography, Software Engineering, Computer Networks
- Postgraduate Diploma in Managing and Teaching at Higher Education (PGD-MATHE)
- CCNA Instructor Certification
- Certificates: Deep Neural Networks, Convolutional Neural Networks, AI Optimization
Professional Experience🌱
- Deputy Dean, Faculty of Science – Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) (2021–Present)
- Oversees academic programs, research projects, and faculty management
- Lectures in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Neural Networks, IoT, Embedded Systems, and Cybersecurity
- Head of Computer Science Department – Islamic University in Uganda (2014–2017)
- Led curriculum development, faculty coordination, research supervision, and departmental administration
- Graduate Assistant – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (2011–2012)
- Assisted in lecturing AI and cybersecurity courses and conducted research in information assurance and security
- Researcher – Intel Technologies Uganda Limited (2008–2009)
- Developed enterprise software solutions, conducted system analysis, and implemented IT security protocols
- Software Developer – Garri Free Trade Zone, Sudan (2007–2008)
- Worked on data management, software development, and system security solutions
Research Interests🔬
Research interests include:
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning – Applications in cybersecurity, pattern recognition, and decision systems
- Cybersecurity & Information Assurance – Penetration testing, forensic analysis, vulnerability detection
- IoT & Embedded Systems – Smart automation, security integration, and predictive maintenance
- Software Engineering & Cloud Computing – Secure software design, AI-driven system development
- Big Data & Data Science – Predictive analytics, AI-driven risk assessment, eLearning optimization
Author Metrics
- Peer-Reviewed Research Papers published in Springer, IEEE, and high-impact journals
- Published Works:
- “A Deep Residual Sequential Autoencoder for Future State Estimation and Aiding Prognostics and Diagnostics in Machines” (Springer, Neural Computing & Applications, 2023)
- “Review of Cloud Computing Framework for the Implementation of eLearning Systems” (NCHE, 2023)
- “Verification of Quranic Verses in Audio Files using Speech Recognition Techniques” (Al-Madinah Conference, 2013)
- Research on AI-driven defect detection, recommender systems, and cybersecurity enhancements
- Supervised Master’s and Ph.D. students in AI, cybersecurity, and machine learning
Awards and Honors
- Full Scholarship for Ph.D. Studies – Eskisehir Technical University, Turkey
- Land Baden-Württemberg Stipend – University of Hawaii (Master’s Research)
- Fiat Panis Stipend – Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (Bachelor’s Research)
- Best Research Paper Award – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, AI & Cybersecurity Conference
- Certified Ethical Hacker & Network Security Specialist
- Recognized for Leadership – General Secretary, Uganda Students’ Union in Sudan
Publications Top Notes 📄
1. Hybrid Fuzzy Based Decision Model: A Case Study of Web Development Platforms Selection and Evaluation
- Author: B.R. Ramadhan
- Institution: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
- Year: 2013
- Citations: 1
- Summary: This study presents a hybrid fuzzy-based decision model for selecting and evaluating web development platforms. By integrating fuzzy logic and multi-criteria decision-making techniques, the research provides a structured approach for optimizing platform selection based on performance, scalability, and user requirements.
2. A Deep Residual Sequence Autoencoder for Future State Estimation and Aiding Prognostics and Diagnostics in Machines: A Case Study of Mechanical Rolling Elements
- Authors: B.R. Ramadhan, P. Cahit
- Journal: Neural Computing and Applications
- Year: 2025
- Pages: 1-20
- Summary: This paper introduces an AI-driven deep residual sequence autoencoder for predicting future machine states and aiding in prognostics and diagnostics. The study applies deep learning techniques to mechanical rolling elements, enhancing fault detection, anomaly prediction, and system health monitoring for industrial machinery.
3. Review of Cloud Computing Framework for the Implementation of eLearning Systems
- Authors: S.H. Asaba, A.A. Alli, S.A. Olawale, Y. Umar, A. Kasule, R.R. Bwambale
- Journal: Uganda Higher Education Review Journal
- Year: 2024
- Summary: This comprehensive review evaluates cloud computing frameworks for eLearning system deployment. It discusses security, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, providing recommendations for institutions adopting cloud-based education technologies.
4. A Deep Learning Model for Prognostics and System Health Management (Prognostik ve sistem sağlığı yönetimi için derin bir öğrenme modeli)
- Author: R.R. Bwambale
- Institution: Eskişehir Technical University, Turkey
- Year: 2022
- Summary: This research proposes a deep learning-based prognostic model for system health management, leveraging AI algorithms to detect early-stage failures, predict system degradation, and optimize maintenance planning in industrial and cyber-physical systems.