Senior ICT Officer - Research Assistant (EdTech & AI Focus) - 2 Posts at The Open University of Kenya

Duties & Responsibilities

Duties

• Conduct research in emerging educational technologies, with emphasis on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, learning experience technologies, predictive analytics, next-generation learning platforms, and student support innovations.
• Pilot Generative AI tools (LLMs) for personalised learning and student support, and assess ethical AI practices in education.
• Implement data pipelines to harvest student performance data, using predictive analytics to identify at-risk students and improve retention.
• Design proofs-of-concept (PoC) for virtual labs, AR/VR learning environments, and gamified learning modules as part of EdTech Innovation.
• Translate complex educational data into actionable dashboards using PowerBI, Tableau, or Python/R for data visualisation.

Required Qualifications and Competencies

For appointment to this grade, one MUST have:

Must Have

• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Business IT, or any other equivalent qualification from a recognised Institution is required.
• Well-versed in modern AI technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, Agentic AI, automation tools, and responsible AI practices is necessary.
• Solid understanding of AI and Machine Learning concepts is required, including Natural Language Processing, Chatbots, and effective Gen AI prompting techniques.
• Proficiency in Data Analysis is necessary, specifically using Python (with the Pandas and NumPy libraries), the R statistical programming language and SQL.
• Experience is required in Research activities, encompassing high-quality technical writing, contributing to grant proposals, and conducting detailed feasibility studies.

Essential Professional Certifications

•  Relevant Professional Certifications including:
• Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate qualification.
• Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate qualification.
• PCAP - Certified Associate in Python Programming qualification.
• AWS Certified Machine Learning - Specialty qualification.
• Tableau Certified Data Analyst qualification OR Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Associate qualification.