KamiLimu

Dr. Chao Mbogo is a multi-award-winning researcher, educator, and mentor in Computer Science. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Cape Town, an M.Sc in Computer Science from the University of Oxford, and a B.Sc in Mathematics and Computer Science from Kenya Methodist University. 

 Chao has received extensive recognition for her academic achievements, demonstrated leadership skills, and positive impact to the community. For example, she was named as one of the 2017 Quartz Africa Innovators, one of the 2018 Faces of Science in Kenya, and was selected as of five winners of the 2020 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award in Engineering, Innovation, and Technology, making her the first Kenyan to receive this award. 

 Chao is an active advocate for quality education and research, which led her to found and lead KamiLimu, an impactful structured mentorship program for university students studying Computer Science students.

A lack of consistent mentorship frameworks for Kenyan university students, which could equip them with soft skills and industry exposure, contributes towards increased dissatisfaction among stakeholders towards the quality of Kenyan university graduates.  

KamiLimu, an 8-month mentorship program for Computer Science students in Kenya, addresses this need through structured mentorship that complements classroom learning. This project elevates humanity in four ways: 

• By increasing students’ success rate of employment and entrepreneurship, thus providing better livelihoods and hope for the future.

• By maintaining a 50-50 gender representation, thus providing female students access to the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

• By engaging local and international tech and social partners, thus increasing trust and confidence in Kenyan graduates.  

• By mentees giving back to the community through digital skills training and conference volunteering, thus addressing direct local needs. 

The number of universities in Kenya has increased nearly ten-fold in the past 20 years leading to rapid enrollment, which, unfortunately, has come at the expense of quality training. Consequently, stakeholders indicate that up to 46% of graduates do not possess soft skills, life skills, or interpersonal skills to perform on their jobs without retraining.  Yet, a 2019 report by the Aga Khan University (East African Institute) indicates that besides technical training, soft skills and relevant experience are critical among graduates towards getting the first job. Equally, a 2019 LinkedIn report revealed that 92% of talent professionals rate soft skills as highly or much more significant than hard skills. However, there is a lack of consistent mentorship frameworks for Kenyan university students, which could equip them with such competencies. In fact, data collected by KamiLimu among university learners shows that at least 60 to 80 percent of university students do not receive any mentorship outside the classroom. 

This project addresses the gap of lack of structured mentorship frameworks that complement classroom learning, which could contribute to preparing tech students for the job market by improving personal and professional skills that are crucial for global competitiveness. 

KamiLimu is a free-to-attend 8-month mentorship program for university students who pursue computing-related courses in Kenya. The computing field was targetted because the ICT workforce is a critical foundation for enabling Kenya to acquire the status of a knowledge economy by the year 2030. Further, the field faces one of the highest gender imbalance in the number of female students and professionals. 

Presently in its 5th Cohort, the program has served 170 students from 19 universities in Kenya, with a 50-50 representation of male and female students. KamiLimu admits selected students once every year, who then undergo an intensive 8-month curriculum centered around five pillars that are tailored towards enhancing soft and hard skills. These pillars - Community Engagement, Scholarship Awareness and Application, Professional Development, Personal Development, and Innovation and ICT Skills - are delivered by the Program Lead, Industry Professional Mentors, and Peer Mentors. 

 The mentorship curriculum is implemented in two formats: hands-on-workshops and competitions. The workshops take place in the first five months, 2-3 times a month, as hands-on exercises, one-on-one peer and professional mentorship, and panel sessions. In the final three months, the mentees take part in competitions to implement the skills gained.   

KamiLimu mentorship program serves Kenyan students in tertiary institutions who are pursuing tech-related courses. Since September 2016, the program has served 170 students from 19 universities in Kenya, with a current cohort of 36 students. The program has also engaged 20 peer mentors, over 70 industry professionals as mentors, and 16 organizations as partners. 

In September 2016, I surveyed 40 tech students to understand their needs in mentorship. Analysis of the results led to five thematic areas that guide the project to date. Since then, the project has grown due to feedback from mentees and mentors in mid and end-program reviews every year.

Some of the ways that the program has impacted students include:

• Eight female students have earned full scholarships to attend the Grace Hopper conference in the US, and five others received sponsorship to present their research at the Mozilla Festival.
• Over 40 mentees have earned scholarships to pursue technical training from companies such as Google. 
• At least ten mentees have earned employment opportunities directly through the program, and several others have received employment offers after implementing the learned professional development skills. 
• Immersion in the local and international tech community has led to increasing networks and new opportunities. 

KamiLimu elevates opportunities for all people in the following three ways:

• By training university graduates on crucial 21st-century skills, the students are enabled to compete favourably for opportunities in employment, innovation and entrepreneurship locally and internationally.

• Through a 50-50 gender-balanced environment, KamiLimu provides a platform for equal inclusion where female students in the tech field can be exposed to female role models and increased opportunities.

• The 50-50 gender-balanced environment prepares mentees for the real-world environment, where both genders have to work alongside each other. Also, it demonstrates that neither males nor females can compete for similar opportunities.

In July 2016, I initiated a feasibility study whose objective was to understand what Computer Science students looked for in mentorship. This investigation was necessitated after several requests from students for out-of-the-classroom support. Further, multiple media reports indicated that stakeholders were increasingly getting concerned with a lack of crucial expertise, especially soft skills among university graduates. 

As an academic, I understood the challenges that institutions faced in delivering quality all-round education, such as human and technical resource constraints. Thus, I sought to initiate an out-of-the-classroom solution, over and above my teaching duties. 

The process consisted of meetings with learners and administering a survey to capture their needs. The results indicated that computing students needed support in personal and professional skills not taught in the classroom; information on various scholarships and how to apply for them; how they could use their technical skills to build impactful solutions; and a desire for opportunities to immerse them in local and international tech spaces. 

The feedback from students became the pillars upon which the mentorship program was founded. In September 2016, I met the first group of 40 students from four universities to start a structured mentorship program. 

At 24 years old, I received a life-changing fully-funded opportunity to move from my home country, Kenya, to pursue a postgraduate degree at the University of Oxford in the UK.  During my first term at Oxford, I experienced a steep learning curve in adjusting to fast-paced and immersive learning. I was not prepared for the critical thinking and problem-solving approach needed for the rigorous studies at Oxford. This experience was a paradigm shift in my understanding of quality education - a change in thinking that led to completing the Master's degree. I returned to my home country, fuelled by the desire to go over and above my classroom teaching in training Kenyan students.

Three years after completing my Master's degree, I moved to the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Science. During the four years, I was exposed to world-class research, innovation, and excellent mentorship by supervisors who inspired me towards being a better mentor. Seven months after returning home with the doctorate, still fuelled by the lessons from Oxford and the passion from UCT, I grabbed the opportunity to hold the ladder for others using a structured mentorship model.

I am well-positioned to lead and deliver this project because of six unique characteristics that I possess:

• I am an academic in the Kenyan higher education system. Hence, I have seen, first-hand, the limitations of the current education system. Also, this position has offered me full access to students who share with me their experiences. 

• I am a researcher and an innovator. Hence, I am always on the lookout for better ways to fill existing gaps, which, in this case, is the lack of consistent mentorship frameworks to university students. 

• I have been in the students' shoes. During my undergraduate studies in Mathematics and Computer Science I was the only female student in my class, a situation which has not improved much over the years. Hence, I can relate to the struggles of under-representation among female students in computing.

• I have been exposed to better learning experiences. In my postgraduate years, I was exposed to world-class learning environments that equipped me with skills and inspirations that I could use to improve the situation among fellow Kenyans. 

• I am deeply passionate about giving back to my community, which provides the drive and a deep desire to hold up the ladder for others. 

• I am a leader. I have successfully brought on board over 60 industry mentors and over 10 organizations to contribute to the program. I have also put together a team of 9 individuals to form the first ever KamiLimu management committee. 

For the past three years, KamiLimu has provided a space where students come to learn together, build together, laugh together, and eat together. One of the best aspects of the mentorship program was that mentees could physically meet students from other universities and learn skills that they do not learn in their classrooms. In March 2020, all that changed. The world was experiencing one of its worst pandemics that called for limited, if any, physical meetings, and the lifeline of the mentorship program was severely threatened. 

After two weeks of reflection and accepting a new reality, I led a meeting to strategize on the way forward. First, we redrafted our yearly calendar to accommodate online workshops.  This exercise proved to be a challenge since most of the mentorship workshops consisted of hands-on activities. However, we revised them to allow for virtual meetings followed by individual take-home exercises coupled with peer and professional mentors' support to each mentee. Secondly, considering the second phase of the mentorship curriculum where mentees compete in various skills, like public speaking, we have resolved to allow a flexible timeline for completing the program, by waiting until it is safe for the students to meet in person.

In October 2017, I was appointed to head the Department of Computer Science at Kenya Methodist University. At that time, one of the things that students complained about was slow and frustrating service delivery within the department. Therefore, improving the quality of service to students was a priority.

The first thing I did was set aside dedicated consultation hours during which students could visit my office and consult on issues that affected them. Since the students consist of full-time and part-time learners, some of those consultation hours ran from 5 pm to 8 pm to cater for
students who worked during the day. Also, I worked with the department members to tabulate a departmental rota when we would dedicatedly attend to students’ queries.  Further, I asked my staff members to suggest other ways that could increase access by the students. As a result, one of the staff members created an online group
which he moderated, where students could post queries. These measures led to the department becoming a role model in serving students.

A year and a half later, I was promoted as the Dean of the School of Science and Technology, where I oversee four departments with over 1000 students. 

KamiLimu mentorship program is innovative in the following 5 ways:

• Filling a gap - The demand for the program by students from 19 universities in Kenya, and counting, is proof that there is a skills-gap that the mentorship program directly addresses through out-of-the-classroom training.

• Structured approach - The program implements a structured mentorship approach through a mentorship curriculum that hinges on 5 stakeholder-driven pillars.

• Simulating real-world experiences - The program delivers mentorship through hands-on workshop activities as well as a competition based model. The competition model mimics real-world scenarios, such as through mock interview sessions. 

• Multi-layered levels of mentorship - The program provides four levels of mentorship support to each mentee. The first level is the Program Lead and Founder, who acts as a role model to the students and also who runs some of the main mentorship workshops, such as scholarship writing. The second level is the professional mentors and organizations who serve as workshop facilitators and share their skills and experiences in various areas. The third level is the one-to-one mentorship provided by professional mentors to the mentees they are paired with, on career and personal development. The fourth level is the one-to-one mentorship provided by peer mentors (alumni of the program), on academic and personal development.

• 50-50 representation of male and female students - The program provides a platform for equal inclusion where all the students found at universities can belong. 

• Activities - Hands-on workshops and competitions are held to train on personal skills, professional skills, scholarship application, innovation and ICT skills, and community engagement. 

• Outputs - Students gain competencies in soft and technical skills that nurture employability, entrepreneurship, and ability to write funding and grant applications. 

• Short-term outcomes - Students demonstrate ability to earn gainful employment, innovate, and attract funding for personal and professional projects. 

• Long-term outcome - Students mentor others and lead their own mentorship ventures, advance in careers, contribute to solving some of  socioeconomic issues using technical and soft skills.

2016 to 2019 - 134 students

2020 - 36 students 

Total of 170 students

In next year (next cohort) - 36 students

Total will be 206 students

Number that will be served in 5 years per cohort - 70 students. 

We aim to have directly reached at least 500 students in 5 years, and indirectly through our mentees, reached double that number. 

Goals in the next year

• Complete mentorship for the current cohort, thus reaching 170 students from 19 universities. 

• Admit a new cohort of 36 students, and 12 peer mentors. 

• Increased engagements and partnerships with at least 3 companies with whom we will develop a model for recruiting our mentees directly from the program. 

• Acquiring our own space for independent operations. For now, the mentorship sessions take place in a room hired from a university, as well at various companies.

• Establishing sustainable funding avenues to support the program. 

 Goals in five years

• Double the number of students in one intake, for the current mentorship model. 

• Implement specialised mentorship tracks, such as mentorship specific to postgraduate students. 

• Supporting mentees in costs such as initial business setup, scholarship and transport fees for needy students.
  

• Increased engagements and partnerships with at least 6 companies with whom we will develop a model for recruiting our mentees directly from the program. 

• Increased engagement and partnerships with companies that would incubate our students' innovations. 

• Establishing a center in a town outside Nairobi, in order to serve students from universities outside the city. 

• Strengthening sustainable funding avenues in order to foster an independent funding model. 

The program currently experiences two main barriers:

• Funding

The program is free for university students in order to make it accessible to students from all backgrounds. Therefore, the program operates using limited resources from grants and donations. Hence, KamiLimu is not able to achieve some of its goals such as acquisition of independent space and reaching a wider group of university students. Additionally, we have been unable to acquire equipment that could further support the vision of the program. For example, not all students can afford their own laptops or PCs, which affects their output in the innovation track. Lastly, during the half and full day mentorship sessions, we offer snacks and drinks to attendees. Due to limited resources, this sometimes tends to be a challenge. 

• Space

For now, the mentorship sessions take place in a room hired from a university, as well at various companies. This limits the number of mentorship sessions that we can hold, and also limits access for mentees to meet the mentors and work on collaborative innovation projects.                    

• Funding

In the last year, we have designed a curriculum to offer training on writing scholarship grants and applications to the public. To attend this event, members not in the mentorship program buy tickets for a full-day's workshop. We have so far conducted 3 sold-out workshops for 40 participants, each. We will continue to run these workshops 3-4 times a year. 

Additionally, we have initially applied for grants from companies such as Google that have gone into the event facilitation. We will continue applying for various grants. 

We have also designed an alumni-contribution model, where past beneficiaries of the program who are now working professionals, donate monthly amounts to KamiLimu. We will continue sustaining this model. 

In future, we intend to design other public ticketed workshops such as digital skills training for teachers, whose funds will go back to the program. 

• Space

We plan to continue seeking affordable space from local universities. However, this is dependent on the availability of space in these institutions as well as their schedules of use.

• Tech companies

  • Partnership in hiring entry-level talent directly from the program. For example, we are in partnership with Media Pal, a tech-media company in Kenya, who recruit interns and entry-level technologists from KamiLimu. 

  • ICT Skills mentorship, where companies offer specialised mentorship in technical areas. For example, in 2018 and 2019, we partnered with Serianu Limited, who offered mentorship on Cybersecurity to the students who wanted to learn how to prepare for this career. 

  • Company visits hosted by technical companies. 

• Community organizations

  • Digital Skills training, where mentees volunteer to offer training on subjects such as introduction to computers and programming. For example, in 2019 we partnered with Akili Dada, where our mentees trained their beneficiaries on fundamentals of computer skills. 

• Conferences

  • Volunteering opportunities where our mentees support tech conferences in the region and beyond. For example, in 2019, our mentees provided support to the African Women in Tech conference.

KamiLimu's business model is mainly in the impact it provides its beneficiaries in the following ways:

• Need - Bridging the skills gap among Kenyan university students by complementing classroom learning through structured mentorship.
• Program - provision of a structured mentorship model that complements classroom learning by offering training on the following skills:
  • Personal Development on skills such as confidence building and mental health awareness. 
  • Professional Development on skills such as CV writing and interview preparedness. 
  • Scholarship Application on writing award-winning applications for funding and grants. 
  • Innovation and ICT Skills on skills such as proposal writing, pitching, and design thinking. 
  • Community Engagement that offers increased access to the local and tech community through hiring partnerships, industry visits, and conference participation. 
• Delivery Model  - The program is delivered through the following multi-faceted approach:
  • Structured curriculum that offers an 8-month model, where mentorship sessions are conducted in hands-on workshop and the skills are implemented through competitions that simulate real world applications. 
  • Layered mentorship Support where each mentee receives support from the Program Lead, workshop facilitators, peer mentor, and a professional mentor. 
  • Partnerships with tech companies.

KamiLimu is working towards financial sustainability through a combination of various avenues:

• Selling a service like the public scholarship workshops and targeted training of digital skills. 
• Through a sustained application for grants.
• Through alumni donation.
• Through partnerships with companies that pay a premium fee for hiring directly from the organization.
• Through raising investment funds. 

KamiLimu is currently generating funds from three main sources:

• Grants 
  • Google has supported KamiLimu with 1000 USD in the years 2017, 2018, and 2019. 
  • Anita Borg's Systers organization's Pass-it-on award provided funding in 2017 of 1,000 USD. 
• Providing a training service to the public
  • Since March 2019, KamiLimu has organized and facilitated 3 training workshops for 120 individuals on scholarship writing. Each workshop generated 1,200 USD before overhead costs.  
• Donations
  • Since January 2019, KamiLimu has received donations from alumni who contributed a total of 1000 USD in the year 2019. Since then we have maintained a consisted group of 20 contributing alumni.