When Mariah Muthoni Kung’u watched a robotic dog perform a series of complex tricks during a visit to China, she was fascinated. But what stayed with the Grade 8 student from Mary Immaculate Kiamumbi in Kenya’s Kiambu County was not just the technology. It was the realization that students her age were already learning how to create it.
She was struck by the creativity of Chinese students — some of them even younger than she — who introduced her to coding concepts and techniques she had never encountered before.
“I felt very behind because I saw how creative they were. Although they were small, their minds were big,” she said.
Kung’u was among four Kenyan students and two teachers who took part in the Africa-Asia Youth AI Study Tour from July 19 to 26 under the Youth Coding Initiative between UNESCO and China-based coding education company Codemao.
During the 8-day tour in Shenzhen, students worked with Codemao mentors to develop creative AI projects, building applications such as smart garbage sorting systems and virtual tour guides.
The tour offered them a close look at how Chinese schools and technology companies are using hands-on learning to expose young people to artificial intelligence, coding, robotics and other digital technologies — experiences they said could offer lessons for Kenya as it implements Competency-Based Education.
UNESCO, Codemao, Kenya’s Ministry of Education, and the Teachers Service Commission have trained about 200 teachers through the UNESCO-Codemao initiative since its launch in 2021. The initiative has also reached more than 1,200 students in 20 schools in Kenya.
The initiative aims to improve coding and AI skills among young people and teachers in Africa and Asia and strengthen international cooperation in emerging technologies.
Its first phase, from 2021 to 2024, covered the Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Namibia and Thailand, while the second phase, running from 2025 to 2030, has expanded to include Cote d’Ivoire.
Looking ahead, the initiative will continue to launch international training courses and competitions in coding and AI education for teachers and students, develop an international networking platform for participants, and place stronger emphasis on empowering female students and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds and rural areas.
For Augustine Nzuki, information and communications technology teacher at Tala Township Primary and Junior Secondary School in Machakos County, the biggest lesson was the emphasis on learning by doing.
“In China, there is a strong emphasis on practical learning. The theoretical aspect is minimal, while most of the focus is on giving students hands-on experience,” he said.
A visit to a company where students were making drones was among his most memorable experiences. He was also impressed by their involvement in 3D printing and practical engagement with AI and coding.
The experience has prompted him to rethink his own classroom approach.
“I will change my mode of teaching. I will involve learners in more practical exposure than what I’ve been doing,” Nzuki said.
But bringing such opportunities to Kenyan classrooms remains a challenge. Nzuki said schools need more trained teachers, digital devices and equipment to give learners meaningful exposure to AI and coding.
“If I had about three AI and coding teachers and 60 gadgets in my school, all learners from Grades 4 to 8 could learn AI,” he said.
Nzuki called for greater investment in teacher training and equipment, as well as stronger Kenya-China cooperation in technology education that reaches primary schools rather than focusing mainly on universities.
“If we start teaching our learners from an early age, they will develop a different mindset as they progress through the education system,” he said.
Faith Wanjiru Ngumi, an ICT and science teacher at Isinya Day and Boarding Primary School in Kajiado County, was similarly struck by the access Chinese students had to digital devices.
“Each learner had a tablet. On the contrary, (in) our education in Kenya, learners write notes on books,” Ngumi said.
Key challenges
Her school has 10 devices, she said, but they are insufficient for its student population. Limited internet connectivity and inadequate access to digital devices remain key challenges for schools in rural and underserved areas.
Ngumi called for stronger partnerships between schools and technology companies to provide updated devices and laptops for teachers.
For students, however, the tour was about more than observing technology. It was also about imagining what they could do with it.
Simon Kyama, a Grade 9 student from Ngwata Primary and Junior Secondary School on the outskirts of Nairobi, said watching students build functioning robots and being introduced to coding applications motivated him to consider a career in AI. Before the trip, he had wanted to become a surgeon.
“I sojourned to China as Simon, but I returned as an ambassador for a thousand learners whose brilliance merely awaits an opportunity,” he said, expressing hope that an innovation corner could be established at his school.
His experience at Shenzhen InnoX Academy, in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, also changed his understanding of what an innovator can be.
He said innovation does not necessarily begin in a laboratory, while stressing the importance of the desire to solve problems in one’s community.
Kung’u, too, returned with a different ambition. Having previously wanted to become an astronaut, she is now more interested in coding, robotics and computers.
“The robots and how AI can help solve problems motivated me. If you give AI the right information, it can help change the world,” she said.
For Mary Nyasimi, a program specialist at UNESCO, such experiences underline the importance of exposing African children to digital skills early.
Nyasimi called for more technology companies to partner with UNESCO to expand access to digital skills for students and teachers across Africa.
For Kung’u, Kyama and the two other students who traveled with them to China, the lesson from the Asian country is personal: technology is not simply something to watch others use, but something they can learn to create themselves. That possibility has changed how they see their own future.
edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn
