A new AI innovation hub for developers from across Tunisia was launched today at Novation City, a technology park designed to cultivate a vibrant innovation ecosystem in mechatronics – an industry spanning computer science, mechanics and electronics – and to foster synergy between education, research and industry in the North African country.
Made in collaboration with the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI), the hub provides the training, technologies and business networks needed to drive AI adoption across the continent.
The launch of the hub is part of NVIDIA’s efforts to train 100,000 developers across Africa through DLI over the next three years – a goal that is now about a quarter of the way there.
Located in Sousse, a coastal city in central Tunisia surrounded by universities, startups, and other organizations with a strong focus on STEM and AI, the hub includes free access to NVIDIA DLI courses on topics such as Generative AI, accelerated calculation And data science.
With its centers of excellence in AI, Industry 4.0 and intelligent transportation, Novation City provides cutting-edge resources and access to NVIDIA DGX Infrastructure for AI startups and researchers. Novation City also organizes activities to stimulate the growth of the ecosystem, such as hackathons and specialized training sessions. All this is brought together in this new environment conducive to learning, experimenting and deploying AI.
“Novation City has launched several key AI initiatives to strengthen the ecosystem, with NVIDIA’s support being critical to empowering AI startups and advancing AI skills,” said Anas Rochdi, Chief Innovation Officer at Novation City. “This year, we deployed Tunisia’s first NVIDIA DGX system and launched major academic initiatives in collaboration with the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute, aiming to train over 1,000 developers in one year.”
Novation City also runs several startup acceleration programs, and more than 10 participating companies are members of Creation of NVIDIAa free program that supports cutting-edge startups.
Tunisia boosts innovation in STEM and AI education
Tunisia’s education system has traditionally emphasized STEM, particularly math and science, according to Wei Xiao, who leads NVIDIA’s developer relations team for startups, enterprises and universities in the Middle East and Africa.
“Tunisia has a rich history of valuing knowledge and scholarship, dating back to ancient Carthage and the Islamic Golden Age,” Xiao said. “And the country’s curriculum is rigorous, creating a solid foundation for advanced studies in STEM fields.”
The country, ideally positioned to serve as a gateway between Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EMEA), has become a thriving ecosystem for innovation, entrepreneurship and research. Novation City and NVIDIA aim to further strengthen this ecosystem with the new AI Innovation Hub.
Fostering collaboration between academia, industry and government, the initiative is funded by the French and German development agencies, the Tunisian government, the World Bank and the European Union, as well as several companies.
The creation of this center comes at a time when Tunisia has adopted a national strategy on AI and digitalization, which includes the promotion of AI education and research, as part of a broader vision to position the country as a digital leader in Africa. For example, the University of Tunis inaugurated this month the country’s first public institute specialized in AI.
Partners promote sovereign AI in Tunisia and beyond
A key element of Sovereign AI Artificial intelligence is the ability of a nation to produce artificial intelligence using its own workforce, infrastructure, data, and commercial networks. The free AI training offered by Tunisia’s AI Innovation Hub is poised to enable this, helping to train the next generation of African AI experts.
In addition, Novation City already offers a wide range of facilities designed to support technological and scientific progress.
In February, Novation City deployed an NVIDIA DGX system, among the first in Africa, which has enabled approximately 30 startups across the continent Climate AItransportation, manufacturing, agritech and other industries to develop accelerated computing solutions.
In addition, ESPRIT University, a specialized university in Tunisia with more than 10,000 engineering students, has nine NVIDIA DLI Ambassadors who provide training to students and contribute to the broader technology ecosystem across the country. This makes ESPRIT University one of the most active DLI organizations in the EMEA region.
Since 2018, ESPRIT has relied on DLI to advance AI education. The university also acquired an NVIDIA DGX system to support research and product development.
NVIDIA has planned similar AI education initiatives in Kenya and Nigeria to improve and strengthen African technology ecosystems.
Learn more about the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute.
