PRESS RELEASE

Ada-AI Announces Plans to Build Tech and Science High School

in Afghanistan

Ada-AI Partners with Entrepreneurs Roya Mahboob and Sarah Porter to Help Raise the Next Generation of Tech Leaders in Afghanistan

London, United Kingdom, 22 February 2018

Today, Ada-AI announced plans to build a high school of technology, engineering and science in Kabul, Afghanistan in partnership with Afghan entrepreneur Roya Mahboob and Sarah Porter, CEO of InspiredMinds and its non-profit arm, Ada-AI. The school, which will be called the Saroya STEM Institute, will provide Afghan students with strong technical and research skills and exposure to advanced technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

With support from both the local leaders, international organisations, and founding partners Ada-AI and Digital Citizen Fund, Mahboob and Porter will work with leading global experts in the sciences and technology to develop a curriculum that focuses on the ongoing digital revolution and prioritizes expertise in AI.

‘By investing in the next generation of leaders in Afghanistan, we can transform the country into a source of high tech instead of a site of turmoil,’ said Mahboob, an Afghan native and founder of the Digital Citizen Fund.

‘Ada-AI’s mission is to make sure global conversations about AI and emerging technologies include voices and parts of the world that are often overlooked or neglected,’ said Porter. ‘This collaboration with Roya Mahboob is the perfect opportunity to help us bridge the global digital divide.’

After the completion of the high school, the team plans to follow up with the creation of a university focusing on STEM subject areas and modeled off of the Massachusetts Institution of Technology in the United States.

The team has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for the project. Once that stage is complete, the team will work with education officials and community leaders to recruit students from across the country. They anticipate accommodating 400 students in the first year.

For more information about the project or to donate, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/STEAMschoolAfghanistan