Beyond Citations: How AI Is Powering Africa’s Research Renaissance

Session Abstract: As African universities strive for global research competitiveness, traditional citation metrics fall short in capturing the full scope of research impact. This study explores AI’s potential to redefine research assessment across the continent’s diverse higher education institutions. Using a mixed-methods approach, it integrates data from platforms like Altmetric, SciVal, and Dimensions with qualitative insights to develop a validated, AI-driven framework. The model employs NLP and ML to analyze bibliometric data, institutional repositories, social media, policy documents, and industry links. The research also centers Indigenous Knowledge (IK), decolonization, and Africanism, reflecting Africa's rich intellectual traditions. It introduces novel, inclusive, and context-specific research metrics that capture a broader impact-such as societal influence, Indigenous contributions, and innovation-offering a transformative and culturally relevant alternative to traditional evaluation systems.

Keywords: AI, African Higher Education, Natural Language Processing, Indigenous Knowledge, Research Impact

Contributing Authors: Mxolisi Masango – Director, Institutional Planning, Cape Peninsula University of Technology