Ghana: 200+ Students Get AI Training and Free Laptops

Students at four Ghanaian schools touched artificial intelligence tools for the first time in May, thanks to a professor who remembered what it felt like to be locked out of the digital world.

Kweku Baidoo, a researcher at North Carolina State University, returned home to Ghana with 20 laptops and a mission. His nonprofit RevoLabs delivered computers to schools in the Central and Greater Accra regions where students had been learning ICT as pure theory, rarely touching an actual device.

More than 200 students across Abonyin Catholic D/A Model Basic School, Ekwamkrom Methodist JHS, Avornyo Basic School, and Lekpongunor D/A Basic School now have access to real technology. The May 21 and May 25 handover ceremonies coincided with African Union Day celebrations, bringing together principals, teachers, chiefs, and community leaders.

"We mostly teach theory in ICT education, so many students rarely get to interact directly with computers," said a representative from one beneficiary school. The gap between classroom lessons and hands-on experience had left students unprepared for a technology-driven economy.

Baidoo's team didn't just drop off equipment and leave. They led discussions on responsible AI use, digital literacy, and technology careers, showing students they could become creators and innovators, not just users.

The assistant professor knows firsthand what limited access costs young people. His own struggles with technology during his education in Ghana inspired this project, pushing him to help students participate in the digital economy earlier than he could.

The Ripple Effect

The laptops came through a partnership with eWaste Warriors, a Washington organization that recovers and redistributes technology responsibly. What started as device donations is growing into something bigger.

RevoLabs plans to expand the program with more computers and virtual reality headsets for immersive learning. The team is also developing UVarsity, an AI-powered platform designed to help students explore career paths and build digital skills through mentorship.

Team members Ernest Adzesu, Desmond Kunjan, and Paul Addo worked alongside Baidoo to make the initiative happen. Together, they're addressing a problem that national conversations about digital education haven't yet solved: getting functional computers into the hands of students who need them most.

"Access is the first step, but exposure, mentorship, and digital confidence are equally important," Baidoo explained during the ceremonies. His research on Human-AI Interaction now extends beyond academic papers into classrooms where students are finally opening their minds to possibilities they never imagined.

These 200 students are learning that the future of technology includes them.