For many people, training has been a one-size-fits-all expertise. You sit in a classroom (or lately, generally, in entrance of a laptop computer or pill), a instructor lectures, you hear and take notes. There are labs the place you get your arms soiled, and lecturers name on college students to reply questions and take part, however for essentially the most half, everybody will get the identical classes, homework, and quizzes, you then transfer on to a brand new subject. This uniform strategy doesn’t assist college students which can be forward of schedule, and extra consequentially, it doesn’t serve college students that fall behind.
What about learners with out entry to formal education or educational supplies of their major language or dialect? Or college students with disabilities or studying variations who want individualized lodging and pacing? What about training that occurs outdoors of the classroom, comparable to reproductive or psychological well being? These are all circumstances the place know-how is uniquely positioned to assist, particularly when put into the arms of the consultants who perceive the challenges that their communities face.
At present, I’m honored to introduce you to the most recent cohort of Now Go Construct CTO Fellows. People from all over the world with various backgrounds (engineering, the humanities, enterprise, healthcare, entrepreneurship, legislation) which have discovered their calling on the intersection of know-how and training. They’re offering environments for refugees to reskill and discover careers in IT, utilizing generative AI to create textbooks and studying supplies for the subsequent era of well being staff of their most well-liked languages quicker and at a fraction of the price, and reimagining training in rural areas with restricted connectivity, energy, and entry to lecturers.
It was Malcolm X who stated, “Schooling is our passport to the longer term, for tomorrow belongs to the individuals who put together for it right this moment.” Every of those Fellows is dedicated to creating a greater world for learners and is prepared to problem the established order. They don’t settle for “we will’t do this”, as an alternative they’re asking, “why haven’t we tried this?”
Their work, in their very own phrases. Now go construct.
Primarily based in: Nagpur, India
I’m a social entrepreneur from Nagpur, India, working on the intersection of know-how, coverage, and social influence. Presently, I function Digital Options Director at Catalyst Now, a world nonprofit community, the place I help the motion and its members to turn into tech enabled and scale influence.
My path began as a failed tutorial, main into entrepreneurship, however I discovered my calling constructing ecosystems the place first-generation entrepreneurs can thrive. I constructed two ed-tech corporations earlier than diving into the social influence sector as a Fellow with Clear India Mission and Tata Trusts. This led me to begin Vruksh Ecosystems, a nonprofit targeted on grassroots entrepreneurship training, supporting entrepreneurs throughout South Asia of their zero-to-one journey. I’ve been lucky to be acknowledged as a World Financial Discussion board Prime Innovator and Skilled Fellow underneath the US Division of State for this work. However what actually drives me is the ground-level work – By Vruksh and ekatra (our AI micro studying platform), we’ve reached over 1.7 million folks with platforms addressing actual neighborhood wants.
What retains me going is the assumption that know-how can create genuinely equitable alternatives. The CTO Fellows program represents an opportunity to strengthen the technical management wanted to scale these options throughout the area and encourage others to show their constraints into alternatives for optimistic change.
Primarily based in: Karachi, Pakistan
I’m Adnan Ahmed Qureshi, a passionate training changemaker with 14+ years of expertise in foundational literacy/non-formal academic pathways, working in among the most difficult academic environments on the earth.
As Vice-President of Know-how and Studying and a founding member at Educate the World Basis, I’ve performed a key function in growing an modern and pioneering digital studying mannequin referred to as the Digital MicroSchool. It’s a photo voltaic powered one-room college that makes use of adaptive game-based studying merchandise, gamification, low-cost digital units and analytics to ship foundational numeracy and literacy in a very self-paced and pupil pushed surroundings to among the most marginalized and under-served college students all over the world and has been deployed with glorious confirmed ends in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malawi and South Sudan with 15,000+ kids, in assorted difficult settings, from city slums to refugee camps and distant Himalayan villages.
The CTO Fellowship gives an thrilling alternative to achieve world recognition to amplify the work we’re doing, invaluable connections with different organizations and people working on this house, in addition to additional equipping me with the management expertise, instruments and methods to leverage know-how sustainably for social influence.
Primarily based in: Berlin, Germany
My background in worldwide relations and kids’s rights gave me a transparent understanding of how troublesome it may be for younger folks to entry dependable data, care, and help, particularly round reproductive well being. For a number of years, I led engineering for a digital reproductive well being mission designed to offer reliable data and steering in areas the place entry is commonly restricted or delicate. This expertise deepened my dedication to constructing know-how that’s sensible, respectful of privateness, and genuinely helpful in folks’s on a regular basis lives.
Constructing on these experiences, I based Soma Rights, a company targeted on youth, bodily autonomy, and sexual and reproductive well being and rights. My goal is to make high-quality training and help accessible to those that want it most, utilizing know-how as a device for empowerment and inclusion. By the Now Go Construct CTO Fellowship, I stay up for rising as a technical chief, connecting with friends who share these values, and discovering new methods to make a optimistic influence.
Primarily based in: Mali and Togo
I joined Kabakoo’s first cohort searching for expertise college wasn’t giving me. 4 years later, I lead a crew of engineers and designers creating AI-powered studying platforms rooted in our “Highdigenous” methodology: excessive know-how fused with indigenous data techniques. We’re on a mission to upskill youth into worth creators throughout West Africa, a area the place conventional training pathways usually fail to satisfy the realities younger folks face. We leverage cloud infrastructure, DevOps practices, low-bandwidth optimization, and content material that speaks to how younger West Africans really be taught and work. The Now Go Construct Fellowship is a chance to sharpen my technical management, join with world friends fixing comparable challenges, and guarantee we will scale our fashions to at least one million learners throughout West Africa by 2030.
Primarily based in: Chennai, India
I began my journey within the social sector at 18, constructing my first group from scratch and studying early what it means to create change from the bottom up. Through the years, I’ve continued to construct and innovate, and right this moment I lead the design and improvement of merchandise at Madhi Basis that help hundreds of thousands of scholars, lecturers, and authorities officers. My work makes use of know-how as an enabler to resolve advanced training and governance challenges, focusing not simply on instruments, however on adoption, inclusion, and long-term sustainability inside public techniques.
By the Now Go Construct Fellowship, I wish to construct a shared digital repository—a “digital backyard” of nonprofit tech options, together with works-in-progress and learnings—so organizations can construct on one another’s efforts as an alternative of ranging from zero and speed up collaboration throughout the social sector.
Primarily based in: Berlin, Germany
I’m Jassen Stanchev, a lawyer turned Head of IT at ReDI Faculty of Digital Integration—a coding academy for refugees and newcomers to tech. From mass {hardware} deployments to authorized compliance and knowledge safety, I’ve been bridging authorized and tech to serve a neighborhood of over 30,000 alumni, 1,500 mentors, and 1,000 volunteers each college 12 months.
Now we wish to scale to 1,000,000 learners with out dropping what works. We carry 10 years of structured, policy-compliant learner knowledge to construct a gamified and personalised studying platform with AI-powered profession teaching and examine tutoring. Our goal is to information learners to life like, high-potential roles in tech by recommending customized studying paths primarily based on expertise, profession objectives, and the native market demand.
I’m honored to affix the Now Go Construct CTO Fellowship to boost my technical management and AWS experience, specializing in scaling, mitigating AI bias, and preserving human connection at scale.
Primarily based in: Nancy, France
As a teen, I had a need to assist folks, despite the fact that I wasn’t all the time positive what that appeared like for me. Assembly my Govt Director at The Sapphires Growth Initiative (TSDI) gave that need a clearer sense of function and route. I started my journey at TSDI as a volunteer and have since grown into my function because the Technique, Innovation, and Growth Lead, which has been a real privilege.
At TSDI, we’re on a mission to empower people and communities by digital applied sciences, selling social inclusion and high quality training for a brighter future, and my work permits me to carry this mission to life. One of many initiatives closest to my coronary heart is the SustainHERbility Tech Academy (STA), the place we engaged younger ladies from rural communities by first shifting their perceptions about gender norms. Then, we geared up them with sensible digital and know-how expertise to assist them see know-how as a device for fixing actual issues in their very own communities. By STA, I acquired the chance to work immediately with these ladies to construct confidence, shift mindsets, and empower them to create options that may positively influence their world. Certainly one of which is the digital studying platform, STEAMSpark, which is geared towards contributing to scalable training options past conventional lecture rooms.
By the Now Go Construct CTO Fellowship, I goal to strengthen my technical management and deepen my experience to scale academic applied sciences like STEAMspark throughout Africa and past. I additionally stay up for significant collaboration with friends and mentors within the fellowship.
Primarily based in: Douala, Cameroon
At Educloud Academy, we lead a mission to democratize technical training for learners domestically and worldwide. Our AWS-powered platform delivers hands-on Cloud and AI mentorship to over 4,000 learners, serving to aspiring engineers overcome the limitations of gradual web, data gaps and language issue.
We offer industry-grade expertise on to college students, guaranteeing that expertise just isn’t outlined by geography or connectivity. Now, we’re constructing an clever, offline-first structure that makes use of AI to map adaptive, personalised studying paths and ship context-aware help in a number of languages, all with out requiring a relentless web connection.
I’m grateful for the chance to affix the Now Go Construct CTO Fellowship and wanting to strengthen the technical management and AWS experience wanted to scale this innovation and open profession pathways for 1000’s extra.
