Edmund Terem Ugar
Contract Lecturer
Johannesburg
Summary
Detail-oriented individual with exceptional communication and project management skills. A thorough team contributor with strong organisational capabilities and interpersonal relations skills. Proven ability to handle multiple tasks effectively and efficiently in fast-paced environments while meeting deadlines. Recognized for taking proactive approach to identifying and addressing issues, with focus on optimizing processes and supporting team objectives.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
2044
2044
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Contract Lecturer
University of Johannesburg & Northwest University
02.2023 - Current
- Evaluated student progress through regular assessments, providing detailed feedback for improvement and growth.
- Created and designed quizzes, tests and projects to assess student knowledge.
- Developed strong relationships with colleagues, collaborating on curriculum development and sharing best practices in teaching strategies.
- Developed and implemented innovative teaching strategies to engage students in lectures and coursework.
- Managed large class sizes effectively, maintaining an orderly learning environment conducive to student success.
- Collaborated with faculty and staff to create meaningful learning experiences.
- Conducted individual research projects to actively contribute to institution's research work.
- Selected and designed lesson plans and curriculum to meet academic objectives.
- Contributed to departmental meetings by sharing insights on effective teaching strategies and proposing solutions for addressing common challenges faced by faculty members.
Researcher
Centre for African-China Studies
06.2023 - Current
- Gathered and organized information for research purposes.
- Presented research findings at national and international conferences, raising the profile of the institution.
- Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to conduct comprehensive studies and generate valuable insights.
- Mentored junior researchers, enhancing team capabilities and fostering culture of continuous learning.
- Tailored research approaches to address specific community needs, leading to impactful societal contributions.
- Secured competitive research grants, ensuring project viability and sustainability.
Senior Researcher (UJ & Notre Dame - IBM Project)
University of Johannesburg, Uni Notre Dame, & IBM
04.2024 - 04.2025
- Project: Technology Transfer and Culture in Africa: Large Language Models in Focus.
- Secured funding for multiple high-impact projects through persuasive grant proposals and strong relationship building.
- Spearheaded interdisciplinary collaborations that fostered innovation while streamlining resource allocation within the organization.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to drive innovative solutions based on in-depth research insights.
Volunteer Researcher
AI Robotics Ethics Society (AIRES)
01.2021 - Current
- Conducted thorough literature reviews to identify gaps in knowledge and inform future research directions.
- Achieved significant breakthroughs in research findings, publishing results in top-tier academic journals.
- Increased research visibility, presenting findings at international conferences.
- Leveraged existing datasets to uncover novel insights, demonstrating value of interdisciplinary research approaches.
Research Fellowships
Digital Medical Ethics Network; CPEMPH
10.2023 - 12.2025
- Responsibility: Onsite researcher, attending weekly institute meetings and carrying out individual research.
- Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to tackle complex research questions from various perspectives.
- Increased interdisciplinary collaboration by organizing workshops bringing together researchers from diverse backgrounds.
Education
Ph.D. - Philosophy
University of Johannesburg
Johannesburg 04.2001 - 05.2023
Master of Arts - Philosophy
University of Johannesburg
Johannesburg 10-2022
Skills
Critical thinking
Data analysis
Attention to detail
Scientific writing
Delivering presentations
Strong work ethic
Active listening
Team collaboration
Digital research tools
Knowledge sharing
Effective multitasking
Driving decision making
Research
- 2024, Senior Researcher, Technology Transfer and Culture in Africa: Large Language Models in Focus, Joint Project by the University of Johannesburg and University of Notre Dame-IBM Ethics Lab, 04/2024 - 04/2025
- 2024, Research Coordinator, Centre for Africa-China Studies
- 2023, Researcher, Centre for African-China Studies, Co-Heading a Project on Renewable Energy in Africa
- 2023, Reviewer, South African Journal of Philosophy, Journal of Theora
- 2023, Research Fellowship, Digital Medical Ethics Network, University of Tubingen and Potsdam, Germany, 10/2023 - 12/2023, Onsite researcher, Attending weekly institute meetings, Carrying out individual research
- 2022-2023, Coordinator, University of Johannesburg Philosophy Department Ethics of AI Reading Group, Researching Recent Materials on AI Ethics for the Group Discussions
- 2022-2023, Research Fellow, Centre for Philosophy of Epidemiology, Medicine, and Public Health, University of Johannesburg, South Africa and Durham University, United Kingdom, Heading a Project on African Agency in Medical Artificial Intelligence, Co-organising bi-annual symposia
- 2022, Volunteer Researcher, University of Johannesburg Centre for African-China Studies, Writing Policy Briefs, Funding Proposals, Media Coverage, In-house Opinion Piece
- 2021, Researcher and Member, AI Robotics Ethics Society (AIRES), Brazil, Research Collaborations
Area Of Specialisation
- Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Big Data
- Generative AI Language Models
- Robotics
- Philosophy of Science/Medicine
- Bioethics
- Biomedical Ethics
- Social Epistemology
- African Philosophy
- Social and Political Philosophy (Rawls and the Liberal Tradition)
Conferences Workshops Symposia Public Lecture
- 2024, Presenter, Navigating Open Access: Building Community Value in a Commercial World, University of Johannesburg Library and Academy of Science of South Africa, 10/24/2024
- 2024, Invited Research Visit, Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies, Technical University Delft, Utrecht University, Wageningen University, the Netherlands, 10/07/2024 - 10/11/2024
- 2024, Presenter, Rethinking Ethics - Reimagining Technology, University of Twente, the Netherlands, 10/02/2024 - 10/04/2024
- 2024, Presenter, 10th rTAIM Monthly Seminar, Online, 05/27/2024
- 2024, Presenter, 11th International Philosophy of Medicine Roundtable, Online, 05/09/2024 - 05/10/2024
- 2024, Invited Speaker, 8th International Bioethics Colloquium: Bioethics, Neuroethics & AI Ethics, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 04/08/2024 - 04/12/2024
- 2024, Presenter, 5th International Colloquium on Philosophy of Neuroscience, Rio, Brazil, 04/01/2024 - 04/05/2024
- 2024, Presenter, AI for Society Symposium: AI and Agency, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 01/16/2024
- 2024, Presenter, Philosophical Society of South Africa Annual Conference, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 01/17/2024 - 01/19/2024
- 2023, Public Lecture, Institute for the Ethics and History of Medicine - University of Tubingen, 12/19/2023
- 2023, Attended, Artificial Intelligence, Trustworthiness, and Explainability Conference, University of Tubingen, 10/24/2023 - 10/26/2023
- 2023, Invited Co-Presenter, Mentoring Temporary and Assistant Lecturers: Enriching the Teaching and Learning Experience, University of Johannesburg Centre for Academic Development, 09/20/2023
- 2023, Presenter, The 2nd Technology and Society in Africa Conference, Johannesburg, 10/19/2023 - 10/20/2023
- 2023, Invited Panelist, 17th Biennial Conference and 50th Anniversary of African Association of Political Science, Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria-Pretoria, 10/12/2023 - 10/14/2023
- 2023, Invited Speaker, University of Johannesburg Philosophy Colloquium Series, Johannesburg, South Africa, 09/13/2023
- 2023, Presenter, Postgraduate Bioethics Conference: The Future of Bioethics, The University of Edinburgh and the Institute for Medical Ethics, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 06/12/2023 - 06/13/2023
- 2023, Presenter, Philosophy Society of Southern Africa Annual Conference; University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa, 01/16/2023 - 01/18/2023
- 2023, Invited Keynote Speaker, 7th International Bioethics Colloquium: Bioethics, Neuroethics & AI Ethics, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 05/22/2023 - 05/26/2023
- 2023, Presenter, Migration and Ubuntu; University of Pretoria, Pretoria South Africa, 04/24/2023 - 04/25/2023
- 2022, Invited Keynote Speaker, Essay Competition Awards Ceremony and Media Brief of the Communist Party of China in Pretoria-Chinese Embassy, 11/14/2022
- 2022, Invited Keynote Speaker, High-Level Dialogue of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Pretoria-Chinese Embassy, 10/27/2022
- 2022, Presenter, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work; Delft University of Technology, Tu Delft, Netherlands, 09/21/2022 - 09/22/2022
- 2022, Presenter, Research Capacity Development Postgraduate and Postdoctorate Annual Conference; University of Johannesburg, 09/16/2022
- 2022, Presenter, Second CFP-Technology and Sexuality-8th Annual International Conference of the Centre for Phenomenology in South Africa, 09/02/2022 - 09/03/2022
- 2022, Presenter, Machines of Change: Robots, AI, and Value Change; Delft University of Technology, Tu Delft, the Netherlands, 02/01/2022 - 02/03/2022
- 2021, Presenter, 6th International Bioethics Colloquium: Bioethics, Neuroethics & AI Ethics in a Post-Pandemic World; Pontifical Catholic University, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 12/01/2021 - 12/03/2021
Research Publications
Ugar, E., Re-focusing the Discourse on Artificial Intelligence Ethics: A Critique of the Intelligent Explosion and Singularity Discourse, South African Journal of Philosophy, Forthcoming, Ugar, E. & Masiza, Z., A Roadmap Towards a Sub-Saharan African-BRICS Digital Teaching Methodology, BRICS + and the Developing World: A Multifaceted World, Matambo, E., Zondi, S., & Shenge, P., University of Johannesburg Press, Forthcoming, Ugar, E., Challenges and Prospects of Deploying AI and Machine Learning for Clinical Diagnosis in African Healthcare, The Thinker, Forthcoming, Azeez, A., Tokou, E. & Ugar, E., Resource Allocation for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Projects in African Context, Trustworthy AI: African Perspectives, D. Eke, K. Wakunuma, S. Akintoye, & G. Ogoh, Palgrave Macmillan, Forthcoming, Ugar, E., South Africa's Xenophobia: A Call for an Ubuntu-Centred Intra-African Migration, Global Justice: Theory, Practice, and Rhetoric, Forthcoming, Ugar, E. & Malele, N., Designing AI for Mental Health Diagnosis: Responding to Critics, Journal of Medical Ethics, http://jme.bmj.com/cgi/rapidpdf/jme-2024110244?ijkey=DTi86emowdsDeIH&keytype=ref, 2024, Ugar, E., Towards a Human-Centred Approach to Data Extraction, Journal of Technology and Regulation, 2024, 28-36, https://doi.org/10.26116/techreg.2024.004, Ugar, E. & Malele, N., Designing AI for Mental Health Diagnosis: Challenges from Sub-Saharan African Value-Laden Judgment on Mental Health Disorders, Journal of Medical Ethics, https://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2024/02/19/jme-2023-109711, 2024, Kluge, N., Galvao, C., Santos, J., Del Pino, C., Pinto, E., Barbosa, C., Massmann, D., Mambrini, R., Galvao, L., & Ugar, E., Worldwide AI Ethics: A Review of 200 Guidelines and Recommendations for AI Governance, Patterns, 4, 100857, 1-14, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2023.100857, 2023, Ugar, E., Sex Robots and the Objectification of the Human Body: A Sub-Saharan African Perspective, Arumaruka: Journal of Conversational Thinking, 3, 1, 66-85, 2023, Ugar, E., The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Sub-Saharan African Response, Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture, and Religions, 12, 1, 33-48, https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ft.v12i1.3, 2023, Ugar, E., Rethinking Remote Work, Automated Technologies, Meaningful Work and the Future of Work: Making a Case for Relationality, Philosophy and Technology, 36, 32, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-023-00634-7, 2023, Ugar, E. & Bavaresco, A., Restoring Epistemic Credibility for Expert Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Revista de Filosofia, 40, 238-249, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7860731, 2023, Ugar, E., Evidence-Based Medicine and Patient-Centred Care: A Patient's Best Interest Analysis, Revista Opinao Filosofica, 14, 1-18, https://doi.org/10.36592/opiniaofilosofica.v14.1072, 2023, Ugar, E., Law and Industry 4.0: Selected Perspectives on a New Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (Book Review), Digital Policy Studies, 1, 2, 95-97, 2023, Ugar, E., Remember Me: Memory and Forgetting in the Digital Age, Journal of Ethics and Emerging Technologies, 32, 1, 1-6, 2022, Ugar, E., Artificial Intelligence and African Normative Accounts of Personhood, Bioethics, Neuroethics, & AI Ethics in a Post-Pandemic World, Agemir, B., 87-112, Editora Fundação Fenix, 2022, Ugar, E., The Epistemic Usefulness of Race in Approximating Disease in Medical Genetics, Revista Opiniao Filosofica, 13, 2022, 1-17, Ugar, E. & Masiza, Z., Saintly AI, is really the All-Knowing Oracle?, Mail&Guardian, https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/opinion/2024-12-06-saint-ai-is-it-really-the-all-knowing-oracle/, 2024, Ugar, E. & Masiza, Z., How Science Should Meet Politics in the 2024 General Election, Mail&Guardian, https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/opinion/2024-04-22-how-science-should-meet-politics-in-the-2024-elections/, 2024, Ugar, E., The Undignified Trend of African Migration: A Crime Against Africans, Independent Media/IOL, https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/opinion/the-undignified-trend-of-african-migration-a-crime-against-africans-b4896a2b-fef6-4f02-aa55-002e08702e2b, 2023, Ugar, E., New Medical Technology Risk Exacerbating Inequalities, Mail&Guardian, https://mg.co.za/thoughtleader/2023-07-31-new-medical-technologies-risk-exacerbating-inequalities/, 2023, Ugar, E., Reimagining the Fourth Industrial Revolution for Africa, Joburg Post, https://www.joburgpost.com/articles/reimagining-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-for-africa, 2023, Ugar, E., Re-evaluating Meaningful Work in a Quiet Quitting Era, Mail&Guardian, https://mg.co.za/thoughtleader/opinion/2023-07-13-re-evaluating-meaningful-work-in-a-quiet-quitting-era/, 2023, Ugar, E., Effective Method of Teaching Students in the Age of AI, Mail&Guardian, https://mg.co.za/thoughtleader/opinion/2023-06-25-effective-methods-of-teaching-students-in-the-age-of-ai/, 2023, Ugar, E. & Matambo, E., South Africa's Data Sovereignty Regulations: Merits and Possible Limitations (Policy Brief 2), University of Johannesburg Centre for African China Studies, 2022, Ugar, E. & Matambo, E., China's Digital Security Law: Prospects and Recommendations (Policy Brief 1), University of Johannesburg Centre for African China Studies, 2022, Ugar, E. & Mbanda, N., Biogerontology: A Recommended Preventive Approach to Medicine in South Africa Healthcare System, Bioethical Inquiry, Ugar, E., Towards an Artificial Intelligence Posthumanisation Future of Work, AI, Ethics, and Policy in Africa, Cambridge University Press
Voluntary Services
- 2023, Community Engagement Service- Nelson Madella Day- Chris Hanni Hospital Soweto, In Partnership with the University of Johannesburg Community Engagement Office
- 2021
Timeline
Senior Researcher (UJ & Notre Dame - IBM Project)
University of Johannesburg, Uni Notre Dame, & IBM
04.2024 - 04.2025
Research Fellowships
Digital Medical Ethics Network; CPEMPH
10.2023 - 12.2025
Researcher
Centre for African-China Studies
06.2023 - Current
Contract Lecturer
University of Johannesburg & Northwest University
02.2023 - Current
Volunteer Researcher
AI Robotics Ethics Society (AIRES)
01.2021 - Current
Ph.D. - Philosophy
University of Johannesburg
04.2001 - 05.2023
Master of Arts - Philosophy
University of Johannesburg
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