Samuel Ocen

Profile

Samuel Ocen is an AI researcher, educator and engineer-entrepreneur. He is a Lecturer and former Head of the Department of Computer Science at Mountains of the Moon University in Uganda, a PhD researcher in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision at the University of Nairobi, and the founder of Studio 13 Developers.

His research builds deep learning architectures that detect and classify Alzheimer’s disease from structural MRI, computational methods that denoise and enhance medical images, and AI-driven clinical decision-support systems. His wider work spans natural language processing, machine translation and multilingual health informatics, with a focus on removing language barriers in healthcare while protecting patient confidentiality.

He has led and contributed to research and innovation projects worth more than USD 164,000. They include a USD 74,576 FAO South Sudan contract to develop a National Livestock Identification and Traceability System Strategy, a USD 19,980 D-SINE Africa grant for data-driven trauma and surgical care research, and locally funded Research and Innovation Fund projects of about UGX 250 million (approximately USD 69,832). These initiatives span livestock traceability, digital financial systems, intelligent waste management and language technologies.

His work brings together computational modelling, machine learning and applied systems development to address healthcare and wider social and economic challenges in resource-constrained settings. Before academia he spent six years in industry as a systems administrator, a systems analyst and an Odoo ERP business applications manager, experience he now brings to Studio 13 Developers.

He has published more than 13 peer-reviewed papers, cited 198 times (h-index 3 on Google Scholar), and built more than 12 mobile apps and web systems that solve real-world problems, ten of them on Google Play. At Studio 13 Developers he leads the company’s work across software engineering, mechanical engineering, architectural design, civil and building engineering, supplies and consultancy.

Peer-reviewed papers

13+

Citations

198

Apps & web systems

12+

Project funding

USD 164k+

Current positions

1. CEO & Founder

   Studio 13 Developers Ngora, Uganda

   Leads a multidisciplinary practice delivering software systems, mechanical works, architectural design, civil and building construction, supplies and consultancy.

2. Lecturer, Data Science & Artificial Intelligence

   Mountains of the Moon University Fort Portal, Uganda · since 2023

   Teaching and research in data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Former Head of the Department of Computer Science.

3. PhD Researcher, Artificial Intelligence & Computer Vision

   University of Nairobi Nairobi, Kenya · since 2021

   Deep learning for Alzheimer’s disease detection and classification from structural MRI, medical image denoising and enhancement, and AI-driven clinical decision support.

Earlier roles & ventures

1. Research Fellow

   Eskişehir Technical University Türkiye · from 2022

   Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease using neuroimaging MRI datasets.

2. CEO & Founder

   Rideshare Holdings Limited Uganda · from 2023

   A mobility app connecting customers with riders, taxis, private cars, cargo trucks and ambulances.

3. Assistant Lecturer, Computer Science

   Muni University Arua, Uganda · 2020–2022

4. Manager, Business Application Advisory

   Osillo & Co, Odoo ERP partner 2017–2019

   Odoo ERP implementation and customisation, including projects for the Uganda Communications Commission, Bukoola Chemicals and Liquids Bi.

5. Systems Analyst

   Pioneer Easy Bus Limited 2015–2017

6. Systems Administrator

   Kenlloyd Logistics Limited 2014–2015

7. Volunteer

   Uganda Child Helpline (toll-free 116), Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development 2017–2018 · Employee of the Year 2018

Education

1. PhD, Artificial Intelligence & Computer Vision

   University of Nairobi Since 2021 · in progress

2. MSc, Computing (Computer Security)

   Uganda Technology and Management University 2015–2017

   Built a diabetes self-care management framework deployed at Kadic Hospital.

3. BSc, Architecture

4. Bachelor of Information Technology and Computing

   Kyambogo University 2010–2014

Research & innovation projects Over USD 164,000

• USD 74,576 National Livestock Identification and Traceability System Strategy Contract · FAO South Sudan
• USD 19,980 Data-driven trauma and surgical care research Grant · D-SINE Africa
• UGX 250 million Research and Innovation Fund projects Locally funded · about USD 69,832 Including, as Principal Investigator at Mountains of the Moon University (2023): the AgriPlanner farm-planning and marketplace app, a model that detects non-revenue water from Kabarole and Bundibugyo consumption data, and a digital platform for village savings and loan associations and SACCOs.
• U-LITS Uganda Livestock Identification and Traceability System IT Consultant · Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries · from 2021 A web platform and an iOS and Android app for identifying and tracing livestock, a basis for beef export certification. www.u-lits.comAndroid app on Google PlayiOS app on the App Store
• ESA Digital health for developing economies: feasibility study European Space Agency contract, through Space Corporation Europe (SCE)

Published software Google Play & web

Mobile apps published on Google Play under Samuel's developer account, and web systems built by the Studio 13 team.

• eShop
• Smart Sente
• iNVETOTRACK
• Mobi Save
• Akatale UG
• LinkUp – Uganda
• eCampus
• CodeGirl
• Uganda Translator
• Truckfully
• LugaFlix
• eCampus: university timetables (studio13developers.com/ecampus)
• Metrons: school pocket money (studio13developers.com/metrons)
• CodeGirl: learn to code (studio13developers.com/codegirl)
• eShop: till, stock, suppliers and money for shops (studio13developers.com/eshop)
• Mobi Save: savings groups and SACCOs (studio13developers.com/mobisave)
• CampusCrush: students meet, match and connect across campuses (studio13developers.com/campuscrush)
• HOSPITAL 360: hospital management, one patient record from front desk to discharge (studio13developers.com/hospital360)
• Skillora: skilled, available service providers near you (studio13developers.com/skillora)

Conferences & events

Conferences, panels, launches and research meetings Samuel has taken part in.

1. 21 Oct 2026
   Panelist · joined online Emerging AI Capabilities and the Future of Research in High Potential Low Resourced Ecosystems Annual Research Week panel discussion, Chandaria Auditorium, University of Nairobi (hybrid). Convened by the Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (CEMA) and the Department of Computing and Informatics. Samuel was a panelist and joined online. Watch the video
2. 1st · 2nd · 3rd
   Conference series MMU Conference of Science and Technology Mountains of the Moon University, Fort Portal: the 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions
3. 11 Oct 2025
   Launch Launch of Sunflower by Sunbird AI AI for African Languages Conference 2025, Kampala. Sunflower is an AI model for 31 Ugandan languages. sunflower.sunbird.ai
4. 26–28 Aug 2024
   Conference Data Science Africa Uganda 2024 Mountains of the Moon University, Lake Saaka Campus, Fort Portal. Theme: Data Science and AI Horizons: Cultivating Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture, Environment, Health and Tourism. About the event
5. 2020
   Seminar Applied data science for transformative education University of Nairobi
6. 2019
   Conference IEEE Conference on Applied Computing Technologies Topic: gender-based violence
7. 2019
   Expo Odoo 2019 Expo Brussels, Belgium
8. Talks
   Lectures & presentations R for data science, ICT for education, and participatory simulation R for data science lectures for RUFORUM; a public talk on ICT4Education with the Lions Club (Silver Springs); progress presentations on participatory simulation and data synthesis at the University of Nairobi.

Research & innovation areas

• Alzheimer’s disease detectionDeep learning with structural MRI, and medical image denoising and enhancement
• Natural language processingMachine translation and multilingual health informatics
• AI-driven clinical systemsDecision-support tools for healthcare that protect patient confidentiality
• Livestock systemsNational Livestock Identification and Traceability System Strategy for South Sudan
• Applied systems developmentMore than 12 mobile apps and web systems for real-world social and economic challenges

• Artificial intelligence & machine learning
• Deep learning
• Computer vision
• Medical imaging
• Natural language processing
• Security & digital forensics

Skills & languages

Programming

Python, R, Java, C++, Kotlin and Android

AI & data

TensorFlow and PyTorch; deep learning, computer vision and natural language processing

Security

Security tools and digital forensics methods

Business systems

ERP setup and customisation: Odoo, SAP and Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Architecture

3D architectural work in ArchiCAD, Revit, AutoCAD, SketchUp and Lumion

Research

Grant and proposal writing, project planning and management

Languages

Ateso (first language), English (proficient), Lugbara (basic)

Honours & memberships

• Employee of the Year 2018, Uganda Child Helpline
• Member, IEEE
• Member, ACM
• Member, Lions Club

Publications & citations Google Scholar · 21 Oct 2026

1. 2026
   Graph Neural Networks for Spatio-Temporal Forecasting of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Risk Using Livestock Movement Traceability Data S Ocen, R Nafuna, A Wasike Journal of Intelligent Learning Systems and Applications 18, 1–10
2. 2026
   Uganda Decides 2026: A Comprehensive Computational Analysis of Digital Political Discourse from January to November 2025 S Ocen, R Nafuna, A Wasike Journal of Data Analysis and Information Processing 14(1), 63–82 Cited by 2
3. 2026
   Hybrid MobileNetV2-ResNet50 with Random Forest Aggregation for On-Device Municipal Waste Classification and Capacitated Vehicle Routing Optimization B Aggrey, S Ocen The Indonesian Journal of Computer Science 15(4)
4. 2026
   How the Fossil Fuel Phaseout Impacts Sustainable Development Indicators: A Computational Modelling Approach N Ndugu, H Podar, T Ireeta, Winston, S Ocen, F Lali, D Bidwai Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence: Reshaping Tomorrow
5. 2025
   Artificial intelligence in higher education institutions: review of innovations, opportunities and challenges S Ocen, J Elasu, SM Aarakit, C Olupot Frontiers in Education 10, 1530247 Cited by 166
6. 2025
   Predicting Primary School Dropout Risk: A Machine Learning Framework for Early Intervention S Ocen, M Katalihwa, D Mwanje Journal of Intelligent Learning Systems and Applications 17(4), 267–279 Cited by 1
7. 2025
   Optimized CNN Ensemble with Class-Balanced MRI Data Augmentation for Accurate Multi-Class Dementia Diagnosis S Ocen, L Muchemi, MA Yohannis Advances in Alzheimer's Disease 14(3), 53–76 Cited by 1
8. 2025
   CASCADE-Net: Causality-Aware Spatio-Temporal Dynamics Encoding for Prognostic Prediction in Mild Cognitive Impairment S Ocen, L Muchemi, AM Yohannis Journal of Intelligent Learning Systems and Applications 17(4), 237–256
9. 2025
   Enhancing MRI Image Quality through Deep CNN-Augmented Denoising: A Comparative Study of Standard and Hybrid Filters S Ocen, L Muchemi, MA Yohannis Cited by 2
10. 2025
    FOCUS-Net: A Hybrid Denoising and Confidence-Weighted Attention Fusion Framework for Robust Alzheimer’s Disease Classification from MRI Data S Ocen, L Muchemi, MA Yohannis
11. 2024
    Unveiling factors influencing choice of clean cooking solutions among households: a systematic review of literature S Ocen, G Nkurunziza, V Bagire, S Echegu, J Ssekakubo, R Atukunda Frontiers in Sustainability 5, 1452900 Cited by 20
12. 2024
    Modelling on COVID-19 control with double and booster-dose vaccination P Kalra, S Ali, S Ocen Gene 928, 148795 Cited by 5
13. 2024
    Deep Learning for Neuroimaging-Based Brain Disorder Detection: Advancements and Future Perspectives S Ocen, MA Yohannis, L Muchemi Advances in Alzheimer's Disease Cited by 1
14. 2023
    A Framework to Enhance Information Security Governance in SMEs D Mwanje, O Samuel, G Tumwebaze, M Bukenya Saudi Journal of Engineering and Technology 8(12), 300–303

No publications in this topic.