BUDAPEST, Hungary — A Ugandan university student is taking an artificial intelligence solution designed for classrooms with limited internet access to the international stage after securing a place among the top three finalists in the 2026 IEEE Region 8 Entrepreneurship Competition.
Adam Katongole, a civil engineering student at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), presented Walimu Academy, an education technology initiative that uses artificial intelligence to support learning in communities where reliable internet access and digital infrastructure remain limited.
His presentation formed part of the IEEE Technology Summit: Ethical AI, held in Budapest on Oct. 1 and 2. The summit brought together technology professionals, researchers, policymakers and innovators to discuss how artificial intelligence can be developed and used responsibly.
Walimu Academy is built around offline AI educational hubs, an approach intended to make digital learning more accessible in low resource environments. Instead of depending entirely on continuous access to cloud based services, the initiative explores ways to bring AI supported educational resources closer to learners who may otherwise be excluded by poor connectivity.
The project is already reaching more than 450 learners across Uganda, according to information presented about the initiative. Its focus is on a familiar problem for many African schools: how to expand access to quality learning when internet connectivity, computing resources and access to teachers remain uneven.
During his pitch, Katongole highlighted education challenges in sub Saharan Africa, citing a completion rate of 61%, a student teacher ratio of 42.6 and limited access to cloud infrastructure. These figures formed part of his case for developing technology suited to local conditions rather than simply importing solutions designed for better connected environments.
The competition offered a route from regional evaluation to international exposure. The organisers’ reported selection process moved from 39 startups evaluated in April to 15 semifinalists before the final three were selected to pitch in person in Budapest. IEEE Region 8 covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa, placing the competition within a broad international technology community.
Katongole’s work extends beyond education. He has developed Virtura, an AI powered tourism and trip planning platform, and Audiva, a speech technology initiative designed to improve accessibility for people whose speech may not be well recognised by conventional systems. He has also worked on AgriGuardian, which focuses on agricultural decision support.
He serves as chairperson of the IEEE Computer Society student branch chapter at MUST and has worked as an AI researcher intern at Makerere University’s Centre for Artificial Intelligence. His previous recognition includes the Best Junior Researcher Award at MUST’s 20th Annual Research Dissemination Conference, held in Mbarara.
Katongole’s achievement places a student led Ugandan innovation in a global discussion about the practical uses of artificial intelligence. Walimu Academy’s central challenge is not simply to introduce AI into education, but to make it useful where the infrastructure needed to run many digital services is not always available. Its progress will depend on how well the model serves learners, supports educators and expands access without leaving underserved communities behind.
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