Volunteering as a Data Scientist in Rwanda

In the last 10 years I have worked in Data Science, growing in experience as each year passed. These 10 years have been mostly about “self improvement”. I wanted to finally enter more of a “giving back” phase of my life by volunteering to impart my knowledge onto young adults that have not had equal opportunity, but still incredible potential.

From mid-September to mid-November 2021, I took unpaid leave from my job in Zurich to volunteer at a data science fellowship programme (Ishango.ai) in East Africa. It took place at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Kigali, Rwanda. During the two months, I supervised 14 African students (who have recently completed MSc degrees at AIMS) on real-world data science projects for international companies.

During the fellowship I supported the fellows on six different Data Science projects. This involved being on calls with the fellows and the host companies they were paired with (about two or three 30-minute calls per day) during which we discussed next steps, results, and any coding issues they may have encountered. Outside of calls I further discussed next steps and analysis; reviewed code; and helped pull any teams that were struggling with any blockers. I also provided feedback on their slides when it came to trying to best present complex data science to a non-technical audience. Work hours were 9am – 5pm with a one hour lunch and a short morning and afternoon coffee break.

No matter how long one has spent in the field of data science, there is always more to learn. I learned about the models used for dog food recommendations; mental health prediction from brain activity data; and the land cover classification from satellite images.

One highlight of the experience was living in a country so different from where I have lived before; as well as forming life-long friendships with many of the fellows. Their backgrounds are very different from my own; but we connected very strongly.

My advice to anyone considering doing something similar, would be: Get out of your comfort zone and do something that will not only change your perspective on life forever, but will also help upskill young Africans that have not had the same opportunities you have had!