Masters Projects

Development of AI-Based Ethnobotanical Plant Recognition and Information System: The case of Ju/’hoansi San communities of Namibia

editor_ikt — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:24:31 +0000

Development of AI-Based Ethnobotanical Plant Recognition and Information System: The case of Ju/’hoansi San communities of Namibia editor_ikt Mon, 04/13/2026 - 13:24

San community elders have been passing indigenous medicinal knowledge orally to the youth, and there is a risk of losing this knowledge. Researchers have been preserving this knowledge in digital formats, for example, the development of AI plant recognition and
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems have not clearly integrated Namibian endemic plants, especially those used for medicinal purposes by the San communities. This study aims to develop an AI system that will allow the San community to record, preserve, and share their medicinal practices. The objective is to collect ethnobotanical information and video materials with San communities in Namibia; to fine-tune an AI plant identification system integrated with a RAG model to identify endemic plant species and retrieve relevant medicinal videos accurately; to develop an ethnobotanical digital platform integrated with AI and RAG technologies; to test and validate the developed system in the field; and to implement a fully functional ethnobotanical digital system. The research approach will follow a pragmatic research paradigm that states that the research finds practical solutions to real-world problems. The study will be conducted with Ju/’hoansi San communities of Namibia. A convenient sampling approach will be used to select community members to collaborate in the study. The research will be implemented in the following five phases: collect ethnobotanical information and video materials, fine-tune AI and RAG systems, develop an AI ethnobotanical digital platform, Test and validate the developed system in the field, and implement and deploy a fully functional ethnobotanical digital system. The Expected outcome is the implementation of the system whereby a user will take or upload a picture of a plant leaf on the App, the AI plant recognition API will recognise the plant, and it will send the information to the retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). It will retrieve relevant videos of a San knowledge holder explaining the medicinal use of the plant from the indigenous knowledge base.

Ongoing Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Josef Rufuma

Principal Supervisor : -- Prof. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Co-Supervisor : -- Mr. Naftali Indongo, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Second Co-Supervisor : -- Dr. Chris MuAshekele, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Integrating Traditional Attire into formal education: The case of OvaHimba in Namibian Primary Schools

editor_ikt — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:18:55 +0000

Integrating Traditional Attire into formal education: The case of OvaHimba in Namibian Primary Schools editor_ikt Mon, 04/13/2026 - 13:18

Namibia is home to several indigenous communities, including the Ovahimba of the Kunene Region, whose cultural identity is deeply embedded in their traditional attire. This attire serves not only as clothing but also as a living expression of identity, heritage, and knowledge, symbolising age, marital status, and social belonging. However, modernisation, globalisation, and the formal education system have increasingly influenced how Ovahimba culture is perceived and practised. In government schools, learners are required to wear formal uniforms, which has resulted in the gradual exclusion of traditional attire from educational spaces. This exclusion has raised concern among Ovahimba elders, who believe that school rules and Western-oriented teaching practices are eroding indigenous identity and diminishing cultural pride among the youth. This study seeks to explore how Ovahimba traditional attire can be meaningfully integrated into Namibia’s formal education system by examining the influence of school policies, teacher practices, and cultural perceptions on learners’ expression of indigenous identity. Using a qualitative, participatory case study design, the research will gather insights from teachers, learners, and community members in the Kunene Region through interviews, focus groups, and document analysis. Thematic analysis will be employed to identify key patterns and meanings related to cultural inclusion in education. The study aims to contribute to the development of culturally responsive teaching practices and policy recommendations that support the recognition and integration of indigenous culture—specifically traditional attire—within Namibia’s education system. In doing so, it seeks to strengthen cultural identity, promote inclusivity, and bridge the gap between traditional knowledge and formal

Ongoing Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Laurinda Ndjao

Principal Supervisor : -- Dr. Gereon Koch Kapuire, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Co-Designing and Developing a VetInformatics Analytical Model with Indigenous Knowledge Holders for Livestock Disease Management

editor_ikt — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:03:54 +0000

Co-Designing and Developing a VetInformatics Analytical Model with Indigenous Knowledge Holders for Livestock Disease Management editor_ikt Mon, 04/13/2026 - 13:03

This study addresses the exclusion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) from digital livestock disease surveillance in Namibia’s communal farming areas, a gap that halts early outbreak response and marginalises local expertise. This research aims to co-design and develop a VetInformatics analytical model that integrates indigenous diagnostic practices with structured clinical data. Using the mixed-methods Design Science Research approach, the study will engage Indigenous knowledge holders in the Muduva Nyangana, George Mukoya, Aminius, and Eiseb conservancies. Data from focus groups and participatory workshops will be used to construct a symptom-disease knowledge graph, forming the base for Graph Neural Networks and Reinforcement learning, trained to enhance diagnostic accuracy. The resulting model will be validated and deployed via a co-designed web application. By combining veterinary science and Indigenous communities, this study aims to create a relevant and effective tool that improves disease management, empowers local stakeholders, and ultimately contributes to the sustainability of rural farming livelihoods in Namibia.

Ongoing Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Shwele Phulu

The Role Of Natural Language Processing In Creating Ju/’hoansi Stories With Structurally Accurate Cultural Narratives

editor_ikt — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:30:46 +0000

The Role Of Natural Language Processing In Creating Ju/’hoansi Stories With Structurally Accurate Cultural Narratives editor_ikt Mon, 03/23/2026 - 13:30

Natural Language Processing (NLP) has made significant progress in enabling machines to understand and generate human language. However, most advancements have been concentrated on high-resource languages, leaving African indigenous languages, such as Ju/'hoansi, largely under-represented in both research and application. Ju/’hoansi is an endangered language with a rich oral storytelling tradition, yet it lacks the digital resources and computational frameworks required for meaningful NLP engagement. This research moves beyond basic text generation to investigate how narrative structure and cultural context can be modelled and preserved within AI systems. The study focuses on analysing the narrative structures embedded in Ju/’hoansi stories and developing methods to incorporate these structures into a language model. Rather than relying solely on fine-tuning, the research explores how culturally grounded narrative patterns, themes, and storytelling conventions can guide the generation process. This approach aims to produce stories that are not only linguistically coherent but also culturally authentic and structurally faithful to traditional forms. To evaluate this, the research adopts a hybrid assessment strategy that combines computational metrics with community-informed evaluation, ensuring that the generated stories are meaningful and appropriate from both a technical and cultural perspective. Ultimately, this work contributes to the growing field of NLP for low-resource languages by emphasising cultural preservation, narrative integrity, and community involvement. It positions AI not just as a tool for language generation but as a means of supporting the continuity and revitalisation of Indigenous storytelling traditions.

Ongoing Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Lemuel Mayinoti

Principal Supervisor : -- Prof. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Co-Supervisor : -- Naftali Indongo, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Co-Creating Socio-Cultural Virtual Reality Learning Experiences for Primary School Learners in Namibia

editor_ikt — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:08:44 +0000

Co-Creating Socio-Cultural Virtual Reality Learning Experiences for Primary School Learners in Namibia editor_ikt Mon, 03/23/2026 - 13:08

Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in Namibia are increasingly threatened by the disruption of traditional knowledge transmission, influenced by formal education and socio-cultural change. While Virtual Reality (VR) offers potential for preserving cultural heritage, most existing applications prioritise representation over learning. This study explores how culturally grounded VR experiences can be transformed into effective educational tools for primary school learners.
Using a Research through Design (RtD) approach, the study employs participatory co-design methods with Indigenous communities (OvaHimba, Ju/’hoansi San, and Topnaar) and primary school learners. The research unfolds in four phases: reviewing existing VR learning supports, co-designing culturally relevant assessments with communities, co-designing and implementing learning supports with children, and evaluating their effectiveness through culturally responsive methods.
The study focuses on developing learning supports such as narrative scaffolding, interactive non-player characters, and embedded assessments aligned with Indigenous pedagogical values, including experiential and relational learning. Expected outcomes include culturally validated VR learning supports, improved learner engagement and cultural understanding, and design insights for integrating pedagogy, culture, and technology in immersive learning environments.

Ongoing Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Selma Auala

Principal Supervisor : -- Prof. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Co-Supervisor : -- Dr. phil. habil. Naska Goagoses, University of Oldenburg

Co-designing an Immersive Virtual Reality Cultural Learning Experience with an OvaHimba Community for Primary Learners

editor_ikt — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 09:59:28 +0000

Co-designing an Immersive Virtual Reality Cultural Learning Experience with an OvaHimba Community for Primary Learners editor_ikt Mon, 06/03/2024 - 11:59

The project focuses on the OvaHimba, pastoral nomads in Namibia's Kunene region. Using a narrative co-designed by the OvaHimba community in Otjisa, the project uses VR technology to recreate the process of building a grain storage unit. The project is also being co-designed with and for primary school children.

Completed Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Kaulyaalalwa Peter

Principal Supervisor : -- Prof. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Co-creation of a culturally validated and realistic Ovahimba virtual reality environment.

editor_ikt — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 13:06:03 +0000

Co-creation of a culturally validated and realistic Ovahimba virtual reality environment. editor_ikt Mon, 04/15/2024 - 15:06

This project entails the Co-creation of a culturally validated and realistic Ovahimba virtual reality environment.

Ongoing Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Isaac Makosa

Principal Supervisor : -- Prof. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Co-creation of accessible and meaningful conservation data presentation for Ovahimba communities

admin_indiknowtech — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 09:14:13 +0000

Co-creation of accessible and meaningful conservation data presentation for Ovahimba communities admin_indiknowtech Thu, 02/01/2024 - 10:14

The SCIONA project is a conservation project aimed at improving the sustainable management of natural resources in the Iona-Skeleton Coast Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (TCFA) by the indigenous rural communities. To ensure that the conservation initiative succeeds, meaningful data must be communicated to all stakeholders. However, research shows that the way data is currently presented is inappropriate or no aggregated data collected is shared with the rural communities at all. Hence, there is a need to design and develop a portal that enables communities, other researchers and stakeholdersto have access to meaningful information about conservation management in the SCIONA –TFCA. To achieve this community member involvement in the design is adopted. This facilitates the joint formulation of decisions by community members and other interested parties to improve the natural ecosystem management in the TFCA. A research through design methodology will be employed and the expected outcome is a rural community portalcapable of presenting visual and audio data, indigenous knowledge as well as numeric statistics.

Ongoing Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Peter Wandai

Principal supervisor : -- Prof. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Associate Supervisor : -- Dr. Gereon Koch Kapuire, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Development of an ethnobotanical database and mobile application with and for indigenous Ovahimba communities

admin_indiknowtech — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 09:09:45 +0000

Development of an ethnobotanical database and mobile application with and for indigenous Ovahimba communities admin_indiknowtech Thu, 02/01/2024 - 10:09

The increasing awareness in conservation of natural resources has brought about the initiation of conservation projects such as the SCIONA project. One of its aims is at finding livelihood strengthening activities based on natural resources for Indigenous communities. Some of the activities suggested being the collecting of ethnobotanical data and ethnobotanical walks. Previous ethnobotanical data collected without the indigenous communities has shown to be incomplete, inaccurate and underutilized. The main objective of this project is to develop digital tools which promote the safeguarding of traditional plant knowledge by indigenous communities to improve livelihoods. A research through design methodology will be employed and the expected results being an ethnobotanical database which will be populated using the plant data collection application. Collected data will then be used to design ethnobotanical features for ecotourism.

Completed Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Rumbidzai Chitakunye

Principal Supervisor : -- Prof. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus, Namibia University of Science and Technology

A Digital Indigenous Knowledge Preservation Framework: The 7C Model—Repositioning IK Holders in the Digitization of IK

admin_indiknowtech — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 09:08:08 +0000

A Digital Indigenous Knowledge Preservation Framework: The 7C Model—Repositioning IK Holders in the Digitization of IK admin_indiknowtech Thu, 02/01/2024 - 10:08

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) preservation and management has been taken up as a serious endeavor by various governments who have realized the value of IK as well as the opportunities given by emerging technologies. Considering the various phases and activities of indigenous knowledge management which need to be supported through adequate designs and technologies, we propose an integrative framework: the7C model. The aim is to guide design and implementation efforts as well as to identify and rectify any possible gaps in current implementation plans. The model comprises seven major phases within the indigenous knowledge digitization process, namely, co-design, conceptualization, collection, correction,curation, circulation, and creation of knowledge. We exemplify the application of the model with technologies currently developed under an indigenous knowledge holder’s toolkit promoting the agency of digitalizing indigenous knowledge across the phases.

Completed Student Projects

Masters Projects

Programme information

Donovan Maasz

Principal Supervisor : -- Prof. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus, Namibia University of Science and Technology

Associate Supervisor: -- Dr. Colin Stanley, Namibia University of Science and Technology