Hi, I am Weldesemayat Teklay
AI Engineer · NLP Researcher · Software Developer
I build intelligent systems that combine artificial intelligence with practical software engineering. My experience includes low-resource language technologies, speech recognition, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, enterprise web applications, and AI solutions for humanitarian impact.
About Me
I am Weldesemayat Teklay Gebre, a First-Class Honors Computer Science & Engineering graduate (CGPA 3.92 / 4.00) from Mekelle Institute of Technology, Mekelle University. I specialize in Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Speech Technologies, and Full-Stack Web Development, building intelligent systems that solve real-world problems through impactful and user-centered technology.
During my internship at Lesan AI, I contributed to research on automatic speech recognition for low-resource African languages through large-scale data curation, model evaluation, and error analysis and presented my work at the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development (AI4SD 2026). Beyond research, I led the frontend development of a comprehensive School ERP System at Sophor Technologies, and also developed an AI-powered Early Warning System for climate resilience in Tigray.
My work bridges research and software engineering, combining machine learning with scalable web technologies to create practical, accessible, and socially impactful solutions. I am particularly interested in low-resource language AI, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), enterprise software systems, and intelligent applications that empower underserved communities.
"Technology has the greatest impact when it is designed to solve meaningful human problems." This belief continues to shape my research, engineering, and lifelong learning journey.
Open to research collaborations, NLP/AI projects, and speaking engagements. I am eager to connect and create meaningful impact.
🎓 Education
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering
Mekelle University — Mekelle Institute of Technology — Mekelle, Ethiopia
Sep. 2019 – Jul. 2026
Grade: 3.92 / 4.0
Thesis: Graph-Grounded Temporal RAG for Contradiction-Resilient Question Answering Over Evolving Documents
Relevant Courses:
Preparatory School Diploma
Kallamino Special High School — Mekelle, Ethiopia
Sep. 2017 – Jun. 2019
Grade: 595 / 700
🏆 Fully funded boarding school — admitted through a competitive scholarship examination administered by the Tigray Development Association.
Relevant Courses:
High School Diploma
Kallamino Special High School — Mekelle, Ethiopia
Sep. 2015 – Jun. 2017
Grade: 4.0 / 4.0
💼 Experience
Machine Learning Research Intern
Lesan.AI — Berlin, Germany (Remote)
Oct. 2025 – Jan. 2026
- Conducted experimental evaluation of ASR systems for the low-resource Tigrinya language.
- Curated and processed a 10,000+ utterance Tigrinya speech dataset from diverse domains (media, legal, conversational).
- Performed detailed linguistic and acoustic error analysis to identify key failure patterns in ASR systems.
- Established baseline performance benchmarks for Tigrinya ASR; results presented at AI4SD 2026 and under preparation for publication.
Featured Projects
Graph-Grounded Temporal RAG System
Built a Retrieval-Augmented Generation system integrating a Neo4j temporal knowledge graph to resolve document version conflicts, ensuring legally active answers at query time.
- Hybrid retrieval combining dense vector search (ChromaDB), BM25, and keyword matching fused via Reciprocal Rank Fusion.
- Deployed Llama 3.2:3B locally via Ollama for fully offline, privacy-preserving inference across 3,408 chunks from 9 evolving documents.
- Achieved 98% diagnostic validation rate across retrieval, temporal reasoning, and contradiction-detection components.
Tigray Climate Resilience — Early Warning System
Developed an AI-based early warning system for flood and drought prediction across 36 districts in Tigray, Ethiopia, delivering real-time humanitarian alerts and forecasts.
- Built and evaluated TFT, LightGBM, XGBoost, and LSTM models using satellite and climate data.
- Achieved NSE = 0.980 and R² = 0.878 on held-out evaluation sets.
- Deployed with FastAPI backend and a React dashboard for real-time forecasting and humanitarian alerts.
School ERP System (Sophor Technologies)
Full-stack web-based Enterprise Resource Planning system for school management, covering all academic and administrative operations.
- Modules: student admission, attendance, grading, HR & payroll, fee collection, library, timetabling, and inventory.
- Built with Nest.js backend, React frontend, and MySQL/PostgreSQL database with RBAC security.
- Designed for 500+ concurrent users with 99.5% uptime target and modular, independently deployable architecture.
Geez Speech-to-Text with NLP
Fine-tuned and evaluated a Whisper-Small model for low-resource Ge'ez speech recognition on a custom-curated dataset.
- Conducted data preprocessing, model training, and systematic evaluation using WER and CER metrics.
- Analyzed transcription errors to identify key failure patterns and improve model robustness in low-resource settings.
Tigrinya ASR Benchmarking (Lesan.AI)
Curated a 10,000+ utterance Tigrinya speech corpus from diverse domains and established the first baseline ASR benchmarks for the language.
- Dataset spans media, legal, and conversational domains for broad coverage.
- Detailed linguistic and acoustic error analysis to identify systemic failure patterns.
- Results presented at AI4SD 2026; manuscript under preparation for journal publication.
📖 Publications
Systematic Evaluation of Automatic Speech Recognition Systems for Tigrinya
Authors: Weldesemayat Teklay Gebre, et al.
International Conference on AI for Sustainable Development (AI4SD 2026) | 28, 2026
International Conference on AI for Sustainable Development (AI4SD 2026), Mekelle University, Ethiopia. April 27–28, 2026.
⏳ Camera-ready manuscript under preparation for publication
🎖 Online Course Certifications and Volunteering
Machine Learning Specialization
Issued By: DeepLearning.AI (Coursera)
2025
Three-course specialization covering Supervised Machine Learning: Regression and Classification; Advanced Learning Algorithms; Unsupervised Learning, Recommenders,Reinforcement Learning.
Deep Learning Specialization
Issued By: DeepLearning.AI (Coursera)
2026
Five-course specialization covering neural networks, hyperparameter tuning, CNNs, and sequence models.
Natural Language Processing Specialization
Issued By: DeepLearning.AI (Coursera)
2026
Four-course specialization covering NLP with classification, probabilistic models, sequence models, and attention.
Python for Data Science, AI & Developmentnt
Issued By: IBM (Coursera)
2026
Built foundational Python programming skills for data science and AI, including hands-on work with Pandas, NumPy, Jupyter Notebooks, and REST API data extraction.
Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)
Issued By: DeepLearning.AI (Coursera)
2026
Practical course on building RAG pipelines with vector databases, embedding models, and LLM integration.
Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate
Issued By: Google / Coursera
2026
Professional certificate in data analytics covering data cleaning, analysis, visualization, and storytelling.
Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals Nanodegree
Issued By: Udacity
2024
Hands-on nanodegree covering machine learning, and deep learning with real-world projects.
Data Analysis Fundamentals Nanodegree
Issued By: Udacity
2024
Hands-on nanodegree covering deep learning, and data analysis with real-world projects.
Certificate of Presentation — AI4SD 2026 International Conference
Issued By: International Conference on AI for Sustainable Development in Africa (AI4SD), Mekelle University
April 27–28, 2026
Awarded for the successful presentation of the scientific paper 'Systematic Evaluation of Automatic Speech Recognition Systems for Tigrinya: Quantifying Performance Disparities Across Dialects, Demographics, and Acoustic Conditions' during the technical sessions of AI4SD 2026.
Certificate of Appreciation — AI Course Laboratory Instructor
Issued By: Mekelle University, Mekelle Institute of Technology (MU-MIT), Faculty of Engineering and Technology
February – May 2026
Recognized for contributions to teaching and learning as a Laboratory Instructor for the Artificial Intelligence course, guiding third-year Computer Science Engineering students through hands-on instruction on core AI concepts and practical implementations.
Certificate of Appreciation — Grade 12 University Entrance Exam Prep Tutor
Issued By: Mekelle University, College of Natural & Computational Sciences
2026
Recognized for outstanding volunteer service as a tutor in the Grade 12 University Entrance Examination Preparation Program, empowering students through knowledge, mentorship, and academic support.
Certificate of Appreciation — Department Coordinator, MU-MIT ICT Club
Issued By: Mekelle Institute of Technology (MU-MIT)
2025/26
Recognized for outstanding leadership as Department Coordinator of the MU-MIT ICT Club, leading and supporting coordinators, managing the computer lab, streamlining operations, and solving technical issues.
Certificate of Appreciation — ARAYA Charity Club
Issued By: Mekelle University, Mekelle Institute of Technology (MU-MIT)
2025/26
Recognized for active participation at Mekelle Institute of Technology in supporting charitable activities under the ARAYA Charity Club.
Certificate of Appreciation — Summer Coding Camp Mentor (Animation, Gaming, Robotics)
Issued By: American Spaces Ethiopia / Afrismart EdTech / Mekelle American Corner
August 11–29, 2025
Recognized for dedicated volunteer contribution at the Summer Coding Camp 2025, mentoring and guiding students by providing technical support in coding for Animation, Gaming, and Robotics, fostering a positive learning environment.
Certificate of Recognition — Voluntary Summer Tutorial Program
Issued By: Tigrai Development Association (TDA) in collaboration with Tigray Regional Education Bureau
July – August 2025
Recognized for active participation, dedication, and volunteerism as a tutor in the Voluntary Summer Tutorial Program for students of Grades 8 to 12, making a meaningful impact on the future of students.
Certificate of Appreciation — Grade 12 Academic Tutoring
Issued By: Kallamiino Special High School
July 12, 2025
Recognized for dedicated academic support in tutoring Grade 12 students.
Certificate of Appreciation — Student Tutoring & Mentoring Coordinator
Issued By: Aynalem Community School
October 2024 – May 2025
Recognized for selfless dedication coordinating the student tutoring and mentoring program, making a lasting positive impact on students' academic performance and confidence.
Certificate — Student Coordinator, MIT Office of Peace Forum
Issued By: Mekelle Institute of Technology, Office of Peace Forum
2024/25
Awarded for great participation and continuation of peace-building efforts as a Student Coordinator in the Mekelle University, Mekelle Institute of Technology campus office of peace forum.
Certificate of Appreciation — Blood Donation & Club Management
Issued By: Tigray Regional Health Bureau, Mekelle Site Blood Bank Service
May 2026
Recognized for outstanding contribution to donating blood and managing the university's blood donation club during his stay at Mekelle University.
🏆 Awards & Recognition
AI4SD 2026 Conference Presenter
Issued By: Mekelle University, Ethiopia
Apr. 2026
Presented research on systematic evaluation of ASR systems for Tigrinya at the International Conference on AI for Sustainable Development.
Summer Outreach Program Participation
Issued By: Aksum University
2015
Recognized for successful participation in a training program for talented junior and secondary school students, organized and hosted by Aksum University as part of its summer outreach program.
Preparatory Education Completion
Issued By: Kallamino Special High School
2019 G.C.
Certified successful completion of the two-year academic preparatory education for university at Kallamino Special High School.
📬 Contact Me
weleteklay2127@gmail.com
weldesemayat-teklay
GitHub
WeleTeklay
Based in Ethiopia · Fluent in English · Native in Tigrinya & Amharic