In the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi: Creating Education Opportunities through ADAI Circle
Jospin Hassan, a resident of the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, recognized the lack of education opportunities in his community. Determined to make a difference, he took matters into his own hands and founded ADAI Circle.
Hassan understood the potential of data science and artificial intelligence to provide job prospects and address local challenges. Inspired by his enrollment in the MIT Refugee Action Hub’s Certificate Program in Computer and Data Science, now known as Emerging Talent, Hassan began sharing his knowledge and skills with other motivated learners in Dzaleka.
Emerging Talent, now part of MIT’s Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL), offers a comprehensive year-long certificate program that combines computer science and data analysis coursework from MITx, professional skill development, experiential learning, apprenticeships, and networking opportunities with MIT’s global community of innovators. As part of the program, Hassan and his cohort participated in interactive online workshops with J-WEL and the MIT Innovation Leadership Bootcamp.
Hassan emphasizes the value of networking, collaboration, and learning from one another as his most significant takeaways from the program.
Today, ADAI Circle, founded in 2020, provides mentorship and education programs for youth and job seekers in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp. The organization’s curriculum focuses on hands-on learning and collaboration.
ADAI Circle aims to leverage technology and innovation to foster job creation and reduce poverty in Malawi. Alongside classes in data science, AI, software development, and hardware design, ADAI Circle’s Innovation Hub offers internet access to those in need.
Empowering the Community through ADAI Circle
Hassan’s journey towards founding ADAI Circle began in 2018 when he encountered a barrier in his own education. While there were existing programs in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp teaching coding skills, Hassan believed they had limited scope.
Despite having access to devices and internet, Hassan desired to learn something new. Teaming up with co-founder Patrick Byamasu, he recognized the potential of AI’s growing prominence and its ability to create more job opportunities for their community.
Driven by the belief that data scientists are in high demand, Hassan decided to expand and share his acquired knowledge with fellow refugees and neighboring villages.
ADAI Circle draws inspiration from Hassan’s experience with MIT’s Emerging Talent program. For instance, the organization adopted the MIT Bootcamps model as a standard practice for their annual hackathon. Hassan introduced the hackathon to ADAI Circle students during his final experiential learning project in the Emerging Talent certificate program.
The annual hackathon serves as an interactive and effective method for selecting students who will benefit most from ADAI Circle’s programs. Hassan acknowledges that local school curricula may not provide sufficient academic challenges, and ADAI Circle offers an alternative space for knowledge acquisition.
Before coding begins, students participating in the hackathon must convince ADAI Circle teachers that their designs are viable and address community needs. The curriculum places significant emphasis on a community-oriented mindset.
In addition to the practical skills gained from Emerging Talent, Hassan utilized the program’s network to benefit his community. Through a social media connection made with the nongovernmental organization Give Internet after an Emerging Talent event, ADAI Circle gained access to internet connectivity.
Bridging the Gap with Responsible AI
In 2023, ADAI Circle collaborated with another MIT Open Learning program called Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education (RAISE). This partnership led to a pilot test of a project-based AI curriculum for middle school students, known as Responsible AI for Computational Action (RAICA).
Hassan appreciated the program’s alignment with ADAI Circle’s mission of bridging the AI gap and reaching underserved communities.
The RAICA curriculum, developed by education experts at MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program (STEP Lab) and AI experts from MIT Personal Robots group and MIT App Inventor, equipped ADAI Circle students with AI skills for chatbots and natural language processing.
ADAI Circle teachers provided detailed feedback on the pilot program to the RAICA team. Weekly meetings with Glenda Stump, education research scientist for RAICA and J-WEL, and Angela Daniel, teacher development specialist for RAICA, allowed teachers to share their experiences, prepare for upcoming lessons, and provide real-time translation of learning materials.
The feedback from ADAI Circle informed how RAICA delivers teacher development resources to accommodate learning environments with limited internet access. It also highlighted instances where the curriculum’s western ideals clashed with the communal cultural beliefs of ADAIKindly read our copyright disclaimer here: https://cere-sync.com/dmca-copyrights-disclaimer/