In brief
Mulungushi University in Zambia has opened an AI‑focused Confucius Institute, the first of its kind on the African continent. The partnership aims to build local AI skills, promote technology localization, and strengthen South‑South cooperation between Zambia and China. Zambian alumni and Chinese educators say the institute will help students thrive in a technology‑driven world and accelerate Zambia’s adoption of AI.
An AI‑focused Confucius Institute opened at Mulungushi University in Zambia on Monday, marking the first such institute in Africa.
The new center, part of the China‑Zambia cooperation agenda, aims to boost technological contacts between the two countries. It is designed to increase local AI capacity, help local firms adapt AI technologies, and strengthen South‑South collaboration.
The launch was welcomed by the Zambia China Old Students Association (ZACOSA). ZACOSA President Kingsley Kalusha called the institute a milestone in the technological and academic partnership between Zambia and China.
With fast‑moving trends in AI and its growing adoption, this partnership will help build local capacity and advance technology localization for development,
Kalusha said in a statement to Xinhua. He added that the institute’s focus on development, skill building and talent exchanges would help Zambian students meet the demands of a technology‑driven world.
The president also noted the importance of South‑South cooperation. “The initiative would help students meet the demands of an increasingly technology‑driven world,” he said, adding that Zambia could benefit from China’s advances in AI to accelerate local adoption and application of the technology.
ZACOSA is an organization of Zambian graduates who studied in China, and it seeks to promote educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries. The institute’s opening signals a new chapter in China‑Zambia collaboration, especially in the AI field.
