Deperias Kerre, PhD

Deperias Kerre, PhD

Researcher at the University of Liège working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, semantic technologies, and information retrieval to improve metadata quality, dataset discoverability, and context-aware data integration.

KED Lab

KED (Knowledge Engineering and Discovery) Lab is an upcoming research group to be hosted at the School of Computing and Engineering Sciences of Strathmore University and to be headed by Dr. Deperias Kerre. The group will explore how heterogeneous data can be meaningfully represented, integrated and discovered through knowledge engineering, semantic technologies and artificial intelligence. The main research pillars are as follows:

  • Knowledge Representation and Engineering — Ontology design, knowledge modelling, knowledge graphs, and semantic representation of information.

  • Heterogeneous Data Integration and Interoperability — Integrating data from diverse sources through schema matching, entity resolution, semantic alignment, and knowledge graph construction.

  • Metadata Quality and Data Discovery — Assessing metadata and keyword quality to improve dataset discoverability, search, retrieval, and reuse, particularly in open-data environments.

  • Neuro-Symbolic AI for Data and Knowledge — Combining neural models with symbolic representations and reasoning to support knowledge construction, semantic integration, and intelligent data discovery.

  • Semantic Technologies and Intelligent Data Access — Developing semantic approaches and intelligent methods that help users find, connect, interpret, and reuse relevant information across heterogeneous data collections.

Team

(Postdoctoral) Researchers and Collaborators

  • Dr. Dickson Owuor — Senior Lecturer at Strathmore University. His research interests include data mining, gradual patterns, machine learning, pattern recognition, and artificial intelligence. He collaborates with KED Lab on research connecting data mining, knowledge discovery, and data and knowledge engineering.

  • Prof. Christophe Debruyne — Researcher at the University of Liège (ULiège), with expertise in ontology and knowledge engineering, data modelling, Linked Data, and declarative approaches to data integration. He leads the Data Representation and Engineering (DRE) Group and collaborates with KED Lab on knowledge representation, knowledge graphs, and semantic data integration.