Leader in information technology

As the chairperson of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) presidential taskforce and the co-establisher of the Green Hydrogen Institute at the University of Namibia (Unam), professor Anicia Peters goes by the title pro vice-chancellor of research innovation and development. Her passion includes bridging gaps through information technology (IT) and she is well-versed in Namibia’s recent developments and research interests.

Namibia is realising the value of research especially through the work that went into green hydrogen, which Unam is an academic partner in, to further research the new and exciting frontiers for the country.

“We all can get involved and it can essentially include everybody,” Peters said, adding that it is important to spread wealth through the opportunities and skill development green hydrogen and 4IR technologies will bring to the country.

Peters is one of the first Africans to serve on the Association of Computing Machinery CHI steering committee, which boasts experts in IT.

According to the Unam forum, her research spans gamification, social computing, gender and digital technologies as well as digital health and digital government.

Some of her more recent work includes two grants she received from Google in 2020 and 2021.

One grant is through the Award for Inclusion Research and the other is for African contextual and responsible design and developments in artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups. Her work will include developing AI technologies in the field of agriculture to further support the country’s agricultural growth.

In collaboration with Unam and other players, Peters will also be hosting an agri hackathon for anyone who would like to launch their tech innovation related to agriculture in September.

“I was always one of the background people,” she said about her work, adding that she started off being an ad-hoc expert adviser to ministers and organisations and establishing groups on various technical topics.

Her career advancement surpassed her expectations as a little girl, who grew up on the “dusty streets of Rehoboth and then Khomasdal.”

As the chairperson of the 4IR taskforce, it came as a surprise to Peters to be chosen by President Hage Geingob in 2021.

“It was a very big assignment that we had,” she said.



A balancing act

When not working on various research and projects, Peters makes a point of it to try to switch off over the weekends. “It was only recently that I started blocking out work over the weekends.” Working in the United States and her experience in Namibia has revealed two worlds. The US was a world of constant hard work while professionals in Namibia take a more relaxed approach.

“I always tell my students that I wish to find a balance between the American and Namibian work life,” she said.

Her time off includes spending time with her four daughters and husband.



Early academic life

During her studies, Peters earned her cum laude B.tech degree in business computing and received the rectors medal for outstanding achievement at the then Polytechnic of Namibia. After undergrad, she pursued her masters and her doctoral degree in human-computer interaction at Iowa State University with a 100% average over 23 subjects, and received a research excellence award.

In 2012, she became a Google Anita Borg scholar in the US, after which she worked at Intuit in Silicon Valley and then worked as a post doc with Margaret Burnet, a distinguished professor at Oregon State University.