SIMPLE STUDY PATH TO JOIN THE A.I REVOLUTION IN AFRICA

There has been a rise of tech startups in Africa, but it still feels as if a lot has not been done nor achieved by these startups in bringing about a steady growth with an inclusion of the African best minds; our youths from all rural and urban areas.

It will be amazing to note that, despite the emergence, embrace and rise of technology in this part of the globe, it has not been an easy exercise for those minds that have harness the tech skills and have been able to build systems for themselves, improved our economy as a people and contributed to been reckon with by the rest of the world.

It can be discouraging, but it’s not impossible to achieve, as there are a lot of success stories out there, who probably were in a tougher situation than you might be at the moment, so, how do I set out?.

It will interest you to note that most, if not 80% of the Programmers we have in Africa are self-taught and motivated, there is no concrete provision for teaching Technology even in our institutions. I heard a story from one of my colleague in the office, telling me how he had a friend who told him that back in the University, he will hear his lecturer make mention of ‘nachine yearning’, but he always jot it down, until the day he bought the textbook and then realized that it was Machine Learning all along. Like this student and many others out there, our Curriculum has very fancy expressions officially known as Course titles, which I term ‘Curriculum scramble‘.

Enough of writing about what our Academic structure and standard is, because having gone through the system, I can write on and on about how disappointed I am with the system.

How do we set out amidst this back drop in the system; is the essence of this write up.

I will like to outline some factors that set me on the path to becoming not just an A.I Enthusiast, but a consistent researcher and developer of A.I Solutions. Though these factors might not be applicable to all; but might be helpful for those that have little or no funds to commit to a standard learning process, mentorship and assessment. Some of the factors are:

· Find a purpose.

· Get a laptop.

· Look for internet.

· Set a time table.

· Build a radical commitment.

· Find a mentor.

· Remain Focus, be consistent.

It is no doubt that the system is not encouraging at all, but it will be a submission to defeat, cowardice on our path if we accede to the circumstances around us turning us into a mediocre.

For self-study towards the actualization of competence in the area of A.I, I will recommend the following research based module for those interested in becoming A.I Engineers.

1. Study Elementary Python.

2. Introduction to artificial Intelligence.

3. Data Science with Python.

4. Machine Learning.

5. Deep Learning with TensorFlow.

6. Build a project.

This might not be comprehensive enough, but the acquisition of competence in these areas mentioned above is capable of getting you the desired result.

Silas Ogar

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