What We've Achieved

Mobile-Only Intro Coding Course

In February 2023, we piloted the first-ever mobile-phone-based implementation of Harvard CS50 Introduction to Computer Science with students from Kagumo High. The 1-week long course was a resounding success that you can read more about in our February newsletter. The testimonies from the intro reel video were recorded after the closing ceremony of that first coding course. In April 2023, we conducted a second intro course with 2 schools (Mang'U High and Mary Girl's High) alongside students from Ngong Road Children's Foundation.

DirectEd Bootcamp Kenya 2023

Between May 2nd and August 12th, 40 students participated in the first DirectEd Bootcamp. The journey began with a launch day at Kenyatta University and ended at the very same university with a graduation ceremony. For the graduation ceremony, we were honoured to have the CEO of COTI Group, Shahaf Bar-Geffen join us for an inspirational speech.

The bootcamp trained students from Mang'U High, Maryhill Girl's High, Kagumo High and NRCF in full stack web development using the MERN framework - one the most popular frameworks for web application development right now. Students also gained a host of enriching skills covering everything from how to ace interviews, resume writing, atomic habits, effective learning techniques and how to build a tech startup.

Smart Contract Development

We have completed the development of our open-sourced milestones-based scholarship smart contract. Anyone is free to test it on the Cardano preview testnet. We will be finalising the specification Q2-Q3 and conduct small-scale tests of it with our stakeholders in Kenya. You can read more about it at our GitHub repository.

Sponsors and Partnerships

We currently have a number of different partnerships and sponsorships other than the previously mentioned partner high schools in Kenya.

  • COTI Group: sponsored the first cohort of students at Kagumo High, now known as the "Djed Scholars". CEO Shahaf Bar-Geffen retweet.

  • KIND, CLOVR and AKYO stake pools: each one donating 25% of their margin fees to DirectEd every month!

  • Kotebe University of Education: to develop and implement a cost-effective and scalable coding bootcamp and pilot the use of verifiable credentials.

  • Tally: tech internship partner covering a 6-month long paid internship for 4 graduates of the bootcamp (currently underway)

  • Web3usergroup: to collaborate on fundraising efforts and a shared Discord.

  • Selfdriven Foundation: as students complete learning milestones, donations are being made to our Access Scholarship pools.

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