Introducing the East African HEI Network for Regional Digital Plant Pathology Study Modules, VIRAL.

The impact of plant pathogens on food security in tropics and especially in Eastern African region is devastating. Increasing mean temperatures due to climate change will continue to enhance the prevalence of pathogens and diseases they cause. Since partner HEIs in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda operate at the source of many African pathogens, modernisation of higher education in the fields of Plant Pathology and Virology is urgently needed. Great progress has been made in disease detection, identification and management. Novel technologies have emerged in multiple fronts, including high throughput sequencing, bioinformatics, wet lab detection and translation of these to field conditions. Furthermore, promising developments in image-based technologies provide fast non-destructive analysis, and machine learning approaches facilitate the accessibility of these technologies to the level of mobile apps. Employing these developments, this project will modernise existing Plant Pathology study programmes at partner HEIs by promoting uptake of image-based digital technologies for detection and identification of plant pathogens and disease diagnosis, coupled with cloud assisted Artificial Intelligence. The digitization is relevant to the whole chain, from laboratories to fields, thereby making the digital transformation in plant pathology as comprehensive and inclusive as possible. In addition to the novel technologies University Pedagogy methods will be introduced to
facilitate learning. Among the partner countries, a total of 300 students will benefit from the capacity building, and 60 teachers will receive training in university pedagogy and soft skills. Ultimately, the established East African HEI network will join forces to introduce three modernised Regional
Digital Plant Pathology Study Modules for 1) University Pedagogy, 2) Imaging Technologies and 3) Plant Pathology. The study modules will be incorporated in the existing curriculum in partner HEIs for student credits.