Projects in Motion

Here we showcase exemplar projects that demonstrate how Education AI Futures operates in real-world contexts, from local classrooms to national policy frameworks.

Featured Projects

Project 01

AI Tutors for Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Secondary Schools

Context

Working with secondary schools in Central Uganda, we co-designed an AI learning companion aligned with CBC outcomes in mathematics and science. The pilot involved 12 schools, 45 teachers, and over 1,200 students across urban and rural settings.

Implementation

  • Students used UbuntuTutor for homework support and self-paced revision during after-school hours.
  • Teachers received aggregated insights via CompetencyAnalytics Studio showing which competencies needed reinforcement across their classes.
  • Weekly co-design sessions with teachers informed iterative improvements to the tutor's responses and local language support.

Outcomes

The project surfaced critical issues about data consent, equity of access (gender gaps in after-school phone access), and teacher–AI role negotiation, which fed directly into policy recommendations for the Ministry of Education.

89% Student Engagement
34% Assessment Improvement
Project 02

LLMs in University Assessment – Threat or Opportunity?

Context

In collaboration with three university departments (Computer Science, Education, and Social Sciences), we studied how students were using ChatGPT-like systems in coursework and examinations.

Implementation

  • We ran controlled experiments comparing traditional exam formats with AI-aware assessments across 8 courses.
  • We prototyped ExamIntegrity frameworks that permit controlled AI use while preserving rigorous learning outcomes.
  • Conducted focus groups with 120 students to understand their actual usage patterns and ethical concerns.

Outcomes

Findings informed faculty training programs, academic misconduct policy revisions, and the development of AI-integrated assessment rubrics now adopted by two faculties.

Project 03

AI-Supported Teaching in Refugee Settlements

Context

In accelerated education programmes and informal learning spaces in Bidibidi and Kyaka II refugee settlements, we piloted the FragileContext EdTech Suite with 25 community teachers and 600 learners.

Implementation

  • Offline-first AI content delivery using solar-powered tablets, synchronized periodically at community hubs with internet connectivity.
  • Locally curated learning content emphasizing psychosocial support, language learning (English, Swahili, and Arabic), and foundational numeracy.
  • Co-design sessions with youth and community teachers to adapt AI tools to trauma-aware pedagogy and multi-grade classrooms.

Outcomes

Demonstrated viability of AI tools in fragile contexts with community-centered design and offline-first architecture. Project led to partnership with UNHCR innovation unit for scaling.

95% Teacher Retention
3x Learning Hours
Project 04

TeacherStudio as a Co-Creator, Not a Replacement

Context

A faculty development programme at Makerere University explored how TeacherStudio could support curriculum design and lesson planning while preserving pedagogical autonomy.

Implementation

  • Co-generate lesson plans grounded in local examples and indigenous epistemologies using structured prompt templates.
  • Support reflection on bias and representation through built-in critical prompts that interrogate whose knowledge is centered.
  • Reduce administrative workload while expanding the space for creative and contextualized teaching approaches.

Outcomes

Teachers reported enhanced capacity for curriculum adaptation while maintaining pedagogical authority and cultural relevance. 92% of participants said the tool increased their confidence in integrating AI into their practice.

Project 05

Open Education RAG for National Curriculum Materials

Context

We partnered with the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) and the National Library to create a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system serving students and teachers across Uganda.

Implementation

  • All curriculum content indexed with DOIs and metadata, reinforcing academic citation practices and traceability.
  • Users could query "Explain X at Senior 2 level" and receive responses grounded strictly in local, approved material.
  • Built with open-source components, deployable on local infrastructure to ensure data sovereignty.

Outcomes

This became an exemplar of data sovereignty and non-extractive AI infrastructure, now being considered for national rollout. The system has indexed over 5,000 curriculum documents and serves approximately 10,000 queries monthly.

Project Impact

Each project generates both technical and conceptual artifacts, feeding back into the Education AI Futures ecosystem.

15+ Active Projects

Currently deployed across Uganda and East Africa

50+ Partner Schools

Including primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions

25k+ Students Reached

Across urban, rural, and refugee settlement contexts

Each project generates technical artifacts (code, models, datasets) and conceptual artifacts (frameworks, guidelines, policy briefs)—all contributing to a growing body of evidence for locally-grounded education AI.