Research

My research asks how artificial intelligence actually takes hold in education — not in the abstract, but in the specific institutions, classrooms, and policy environments of African and small-island developing contexts. I am interested in the distance between being ready for AI and genuinely adopting it, and in designing AI support that helps learners rather than displacing their own regulation.

Research themes

AI adoption and readiness in higher education

Institutions and educators are increasingly “ready” for AI on paper — infrastructure, awareness, policy intent — yet adoption often stalls. Using frameworks such as UTAUT and TOE–TAM, I study the organisational, technological, and human factors that determine whether AI-enabled tools are actually taken up, with fieldwork in Zanzibar’s higher-education and public sectors.

AI in education policy in Africa

Debates about AI in African education tend to swing between hype and skepticism. My work argues for a third path: careful, context-sensitive AIED policy that takes both the opportunities and the real constraints of under-resourced systems seriously.

Generative AI and self-regulated learning

Generative AI and adaptive systems make personalised support feasible at scale. I investigate how they can scaffold students’ help-seeking and self-regulated learning — and where the line sits between supporting a learner’s own regulation and quietly replacing it.

Human factors and ergonomics

Growing out of my industrial design engineering training, I also work on human factors and ergonomics — from anthropometric mismatch between students and classroom furniture to the interaction design of everyday systems.

Current work

My doctoral research develops these threads into a coherent program on AI adoption and AI-supported learning in higher education, combining survey and structural-equation methods with systematic review and case studies drawn from Zanzibar and the wider region.

Future directions

• Longitudinal study of AI adoption trajectories in resource-constrained institutions, beyond one-off readiness snapshots.
• Design and evaluation of AI-based help-seeking scaffolds for self-regulated learning.
• Context-sensitive AIED policy frameworks for African and small-island developing states.

Collaboration

I welcome collaboration with researchers working on AI in education, AI adoption and technology acceptance, self-regulated learning, or higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa. If our interests overlap, please get in touch.