Radhika Khandelwal

Dr. Radhika Khandelwal is affiliated with the Laboratory of Translational Nutrition Biology at ETH Zürich, part of the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health. Her work bridges digital humanities, computational methods, and religious studies in African contexts. She focuses on topics such as Islamic intellectual movements, religious activism in universities, and the role of technology in religious discourse.

Her research explores the intersection of religion and politics in West Africa, particularly in Togo, Benin, and Côte d'Ivoire. Key projects include the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC), which uses AI to curate historical data, and collaborations with institutions like the École nationale des chartes (ENC) in Paris. These partnerships address AI chatbots in historical research and digital edition platforms for medieval texts.

Dr. Khandelwal’s articles examine religious minorities, Salafism, counterterrorism policies, and the digitization of Islamic heritage. She emphasizes how technology reshapes religious engagement, authority, and public spheres. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates sociology, political science, and digital methodologies to analyze contemporary religious dynamics in Africa.

Her work highlights the transformative potential—and ethical challenges—of AI in humanities research. Recent discussions with ENC scholars explore RAG architecture for historical corpora and public-facing digital tools. Future collaboration aims to expand digital humanities applications in African religious studies.