The Google Africa Team published a blog entry detailing the successes of the AITI/Google collaboration:

http://google-africa.blogspot.com/2009/10/update-on-university-outreach-in-kenya.html

The AITI Extension course at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) has reached the SMS (txt)-based services unit.  They are using AITI’s SMS infrastructure and materials.  You can follow the class by reading their blog:

http://discoverjkuat.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/jkuatmit-aiti-x-sms-applications/#more-80

AITI has posted the followup report for our summer 2009 program in Kenya.  You can find it here.  If you have been following this blog closely, you will find little new in the report

Thanks to Bryant Harrison for sending me this article that describes some of the challenges that mobile entrepreneurs face in Africa due to the closed nature of the mobile networks:

http://venturebeat.com/2009/09/25/africas-sms-crisis-and-how-to-stop-it/

Yesterday I appeared on the TV show “Maximizing Progress” with host Joost Bonsen.  The show runs live every Wednesday at 6pm on Cambridge Community TV.  The show has been on the air for approximately 10 years, and it focuses on technological innovation and entrepreneurship, especially in the context of development.  Each week one guest is interviewed.

Joost is a visiting scientist at the MIT Media Lab, and he seems to have his hand in everything related to developmental entrepreneurship at MIT.  He currently teaches the D-Lab class Development Ventures at the Media Lab.  Previously, he was Program Director at MIT’s Legatum Center.

We discussed AITI, my experiences in East Africa, and the general subject of mobiles in Africa.  Here is the show:

Michael Gordon on Maximizing Progress from MIT AITI on Vimeo.

Simon Ndunda, a distinguished graduate of our Kenyan 2009 program has started a business with 3 colleagues. Simon describes the business as “a software development business where we are focusing on SMS solutions among other IT services”. The name of the company is Equisoft Technologies (please see link).  Simon writes: “My gratitude to AITI, and more so the group that came to Kenya this year, is not measurable.”

AITI wishes Simon and his colleagues success.

Yesterday was the first day of JKUAT’s AITI Extension (AITI-x) course.  The course is being instructed by a graduate of this past summer’s AITI course held at Strathmore University, Samuel Kamochu, and two others.  You can follow the course by reading their blog:

http://discoverjkuat.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/the-maiden-jkuatmit-aiti-x-session/

50 students in the class on the first day!  We know that Samuel will lead an effective course.  During this past summer’s course, Samuel demonstrated excellent leadership and teaching abilities, helping out during our labs and during Strathmore’s Mobile Bootcamp.

AITI is very excited about this course and the effect it will have on its students and instructors.  The extension course demonstrates the impact and the scalability of our program.

MobileActive.org published an article recently describing the growing popularity of mobile development bootcamps in Africa.  You can find the articles here.  Strathmore’s Bootcamp and AITI were mentioned prominently:

Strathmore University held its second Mobile Boot Camp this summer. The inaugural camp was held in November of 2008. The camps were spearheaded by Jessica Colaço, Research Leader at Strathmore Research and Consultancy Centre (SRCC). J2ME and Java breakout sessions were facilitated by Michael Wakahe of Shujaa Solutions Ltd and Michael Gordon, president of MIT’s Africa Internet Technology Initiative (AITI).

A team of students from the MIT–AITI assisted in the lab this summer, an example of how camps are mentoring for the next generation of technology teachers and leaders. Colaço also belongs to the first class of the EPROM program that Nathan Eagle founded at MIT. Coincidence?

Read the entire article; it is interesting, and there is more on AITI (it evens mentions this blog!).  The article has one factual error.  It mentions the team that won AITI’s Mobile Application Development Competition.  This team won the competition that was associated with AITI’s 6-week course; they did not participate in the bootcamp competition.

Today we updated our wiki to include the full Mobile Application Development in Java curriculum that we developed over the last 2 years. You can find the materials here.  These materials were piloted and refined this past summer in Kenya.  Anyone is free to use the curriculum.

Samuel Kamochu, a distinguished graduate of our 2009 Kenya program, has spearheaded an initiative to offer an AITI-like course at JKUAT.  The course will employ AITI’s Mobile Application Development curriculum, and it will be structured in much the same way as our 2009 Kenya course:

• Intermediate Java
• SMS Services
• J2ME
• Android
• Mobile Application Competition

The course will be instructed by Samuel, a JKUAT alum, and two other JKUAT graduates:  Isaac Oteyo and Andrew Kinai.  The instructors have already selected their students based on  recommendations from JKUAT faculty.  30 second-year JKUAT students are enrolled.  The course will be offered 3 days per week for 2 hours a day, 1 hour for lecture and 1 hour for lab time.  The course begins October 15th.

AITI is very pleased to support extension programs such as this one.  We will help in any way we can.  We will keep you updated on the progress of the course.