CFP

ADSC2026: African Data Science Conference

University of the Witwatersrand

Johannesburg, South Africa, June 24-26, 2026

Submission link	https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=adsc2026
Abstract registration deadline	March 31, 2026
Submission deadline	April 30, 2026

Conference Themes – ADSC 2026

ADSC2026: African Data Science Conference is a flagship continental forum dedicated to advancing research, innovation, and practice in data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and analytics, with a strong emphasis on African contexts, challenges, and opportunities.

Hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, from 24 to 26 June 2026, the conference brings together researchers, industry practitioners, policymakers, and postgraduate scholars from across Africa and beyond. ADSC2026 aims to foster high-quality scientific exchange, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and bridge the gap between theory, application, and policy in data-driven decision-making.

Core Conference Themes

ADSC2026 provides a platform for contributions aligned with the following themes:

Foundations of Data Science, Statistics, and Machine Learning: Theoretical, methodological, and computational advances underpinning modern data science and AI.
Applied Data Science and Industry Case Studies: Real-world applications of data science and AI across African economies, including finance, telecommunications, healthcare, energy, agriculture, and the public sector.
AI, Ethics, Governance, and Responsible Data Science: Ethical, legal, and policy dimensions of data-driven systems, with a focus on fairness, accountability, transparency, and inclusion.
Data Science for Sustainable Development: Applications addressing climate change, public health, infrastructure, education, inequality, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Interdisciplinary and Emerging Paradigms: Cross-disciplinary approaches integrating data science with mathematics, physics, engineering, social sciences, and emerging areas such as quantum data science.
Capacity Building and the African Data Science Ecosystem: Education, skills development, research capacity, and institution-building to strengthen Africa’s data science and AI landscape.

Scope of Contributions

The conference welcomes theoretical, methodological, applied, and interdisciplinary contributions that address both global advances and Africa-specific data science challenges, spanning academia, industry, and policy.

Submission Guidelines

All submissions to ADSC2026 must present original research that has not been previously published and is not under review at another conference or journal.

The conference welcomes submissions in the following categories:

Full Papers

Full papers should describe completed, high-quality research with clear contributions to theory, methodology, or application. Submissions should demonstrate technical soundness, originality, and relevance to the conference themes. Accepted full papers will be presented orally during the conference.

Short Papers / Extended Abstracts

Short papers or extended abstracts should describe ongoing work, novel ideas, preliminary results, or focused studies that are of interest to the data science community. These submissions may be selected for short oral presentations or poster sessions.

Posters

Poster submissions are intended for early-stage research, student work, applied case studies, or exploratory ideas. Posters provide an opportunity for interactive discussion and feedback.

Committees

Scientific Committee

Professor Inger Fabris-Rotelli (University of Pretoria) - Chair of the Scientific Committee
Dr. Farai Mlambo (Wits University) - Conference Chair
Dr. Peter Olukanmi (University of Johannesburg)
Dr. Isaac Nyambiya (Great Zimbabwe University)
Professor Innocent Maposa (Stellenbosch University)
Dr. Taariq Surtee (Wits University)
Dr Sunday Oladejo (Stellenbosch University)
Dr. Humprey Brydon (University of the Western Cape)

Organizing committee

Dr. Taariq Surtee (Wits University)
Dr. Farai Mlambo (Wits University)
Eleni Flack-Davison (Wits University)
Lazarus Matizirofa (Wits University)

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to farai.mlambo@wits.ac.za and taariq.surtee@wits.ac.za