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GalsenAI

GalsenAI Ambassador Program

Ambassador Program

The Ambassador program connects educational institutions with GalsenAI to help build students' capacities and ignite an insatiable desire to acquire knowledge.

Every year, GalsenAI recruits a cohort of ambassadors in universities. They serve as a bridge between the community and their institution, playing a key role in incubating activities: meetups, training seminars, practical workshops.

The program now operates on two fronts: universities, where ambassadors drive community life, and high schools, where the Junior Academy introduces artificial intelligence even before students choose a major.

In universities

  • University Track

    Universities offering training in computer science or artificial intelligence

    Support students in their AI journey and make them key players in the GalsenAI community.

    Objectives

    • Have ambassadors in all universities targeted by the program
    • Strengthen students' theoretical and practical knowledge in artificial intelligence
    • Foster AI excellence through data science competitions on a national and international scale
    • Build a massive community of students participating in GalsenAI activities

    Institutions 21

    • CFPT
    • Collège de Paris Supérieure DakarTech
    • DAUST
    • DIT
    • ENSAE
    • EPF Africa
    • EPT
    • ESMT
    • ESP
    • IAM
    • IISAN
    • IPSL
    • Swiss UMEF University
    • UADB
    • UAM
    • UASZ
    • UCAD
    • UGB
    • USSEIN
    • UVS
    • Zone 01 Dakar

    This list is updated as the program covers new institutions.

In high schools

Junior Academy

Democratizing artificial intelligence for Senegalese high schoolers

For several years, GalsenAI has deployed its Ambassador program across Senegalese universities. The Junior Academy extends this initiative earlier in the educational journey—at the middle and high school levels, where students are deciding whether to pursue STEM paths.

Academic Inspectorate of Dakar

The initiative was validated by the Academic Inspectorate of Dakar, which issued an official letter to pilot schools to facilitate GalsenAI's intervention.

Pilot institutions

  • CEM Kennedy
  • Lycée Galandou Diouf
  • LEMBA
Phase
2026 Pilot
Duration
Six months, April to November
Format
Two-hour weekly sessions
Prerequisites
None, programming is not required

Six months, three phases

  1. 1

    Discovery and Experimentation

    April to June

    Eight mentored sessions: introducing AI, experimenting with tools, and forming project groups. Each group finishes with an identified problem and a designated expert mentor.

  2. 2

    Independent Work

    July to August

    During the holidays, groups work independently on their projects: brainstorming, data collection, early drafts. An expert is on call to unblock issues. The goal isn't a final product, but to refine ideas and keep the team engaged.

  3. 3

    Development and Presentation

    October to November

    Return to guided sessions to build or refine prototypes and prepare for oral defense. The program concludes with a jury presentation and certificate awarding.

What you will discover

  • Demystifying artificial intelligence
  • Creating your first AI without writing a single line of code
  • Can AI speak Wolof? African languages and natural language processing
  • Bias, deepfakes, and digital responsibility
  • Designing a chatbot
  • Writing great prompts for a generative AI
  • Teaching a machine to recognize images
  • Identifying a real problem and solving it as a team

Who runs the program

  • Maestros

    The core team: program direction, coordination, and educational content creation.

  • Missionaries

    Field ambassadors: they engage with schools, launch clubs, and spread the word about the program.

  • Mentors

    Continuous support: one or two mentors per club lead sessions and guide students throughout their journey.

  • Masters

    Subject matter experts (NLP, computer vision, data science) who occasionally step in to assist groups with their projects.

Free for institutions

Content, mentorship, and certificates are fully covered by GalsenAI. Partner schools bear absolutely no cost.

A certification at the end

Students who complete the program and present their projects receive a GalsenAI certificate attesting to both their technical and methodological skills.

This pilot phase will validate the model in the field before expanding to other schools and eventually other academies in Senegal.

The Board

The Board brings together those who direct and execute the activities of the university component. The positions are unpaid and are appointed by the managers of GalsenAI or the program. The term is one year, renewable.

Top Management

  • General Manager

    Main program manager and member of the GalsenAI Admin Board. Directs and coordinates activities and meetings, establishes program policy, appoints role occupants, provides directives for each activity, and ensures overall smooth operation.

  • Assistant Manager

    Deputy to the general manager. Stays informed of activities and decisions, directs and coordinates program policy equally, and can step into any function. Becomes general manager in case of the latter's unavailability or resignation.

  • Organisation Committee Manager

    Manager of the organizing committee. Organizes meetups: online by creating the event and recording the session, in person by handling administrative and material formalities. Attends events, ensures they run smoothly, and reports back if necessary.

Ambassadors

  • Main Ambassador

    Main GalsenAI representative in a university. Must have a foundation in AI and be officially enrolled in the institution, or hold a position in direct contact with students. Organizes AI-related activities on campus with the support and guidance of program managers, and helps raise community awareness.

  • Assistant Ambassador

    Assistant to the main ambassador, sharing their responsibilities. Helps organize events and promote the community, and becomes the main ambassador in case of the latter's unavailability or resignation.

Activities

Global activities are the responsibility of managers, with the help of ambassadors. Ambassador activities are their responsibility, with the help of managers. Each party ensures their effectiveness and smooth running.

Led by managers

  • Monthly Meeting

    Monthly meeting bringing together the entire University Track Board to review the progress of activities and issue directives for the next steps.

  • Co-Hosted Meetups

    Occasional meetups organized with an external organization. In 2023 and 2024, these included meetups co-hosted with Zindi.

  • Global Training Sessions

    AI training sessions, online or in person, certified or not, open to all students interested in the program. The ML Study Jam is a prime example.

  • Hackathons

    Data science or AI competitions organized by GalsenAI or another entity, partially or exclusively targeting Senegalese students, such as the Google ML Olympiad or supporting students in external competitions like the Umoja Hackathon.

Led by ambassadors

  • Ambassador Series Meetups

    Discussion sessions around AI ideally held every month. One or more speakers (students, industry professionals, or GalsenAI members) present the session. Topics are tailored for beginners: a survey of student members showed that over 70% are new to the field.

  • Hands-on Workshops

    In-person practical workshops in a fablab or any facility with the necessary equipment, covering topics related to AI, data science, IoT, or robotics.

  • University Meetups

    An ambassador's main activity: an in-person gathering for their university's students on an AI-related topic, featuring an industry professional as a speaker. The speaker dedicates at least five minutes upfront to introduce GalsenAI and its Ambassador program.

  • University Training Sessions

    Training sessions, certified or not, specifically designed for a university's students. The ambassador organizes them with an instructor, ideally certified. The NVIDIA certification on Deep Learning fundamentals is a current example.

  • Advertising

    Inviting university students to participate in GalsenAI activities: promoting events on social media, inviting them to join the community, or ensuring GalsenAI is represented during campus activities.

Become an ambassador

A cohort is recruited at the beginning of each year. If you are enrolled in a target institution, have basics in AI and the desire to bring the community to life there, write to us.

Write to us contact@galsen.ai