Historical background

The Academy’s roots trace back to 2018, when foundational work on EdDTech was undertaken under Diversity Education Institute Inc. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift to remote learning highlighted the transformative potential of AI in education and the urgent need for universal AI Literacy. This realization led to the Project AIEd Inc. initiative in 2024, which piloted 12 RDEd capacity-building lectures for educators in Africa. In 2025, under Project AIEd–UoEm, we delivered an additional 23 lecture sessions, bringing the total to thirty-five sessions in 11

months, which achieved immense success. We appreciate the support received from Sam Houston State University (USA), Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST - Kenya), and the University of Embu (Kenya).

The Academy gratefully acknowledges the support and inspiration of Dr. Ashley L. Dockens, Associate Provost for Academic Innovation and Digital Learning at Lamar University (USA), whose AI in Academia Series and related scholarship helped to shape our vision, as well as strengthen, and sustain our motivation. In 2025, AIEd Academy Inc was formally established as a specialized digital hub for RDEd, integrating expertise in AI policy, practice, research, gained in previous years to transform education in Africa through Research, Skilling, Upskilling, Reskilling, Digital Citizenship Education, Networking and Advocacy, as well as National, Regional, and Global Collaborations and Partnerships.

We recognize the individual contributions of Prof. Eucharia Kenya, Prof. Esperanza Ndege, and Dr. Josephine Ngunjiri of the University of Embu (Kenya), Professor Catherine Aurra of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST, Kenya), and Dr. Andrey Koptelov of Sam Houston State University (USA), CPA Dr. Leonard Wakoli of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (Kenya), and Mr. Richard Onyango of The Technical University of Kenya, whose work made possible our lecture series in 2024.

We also appreciate the contributions of Prof Nancy Mbaka and Prof. Dennis Muriithi of Chuka University (Kenya), Dr. Peter Echesa and Dr. Josephine Nyamwange of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (Kenya), as well as Dr Marren Atieno Akong’o of Rongo University (Kenya), whose contributions sustained the training sessions in 2025. The establishment of the Academy in 2025 as a specialized hub to transform education through AI Literacy informed by the Nine Stakeholders-Nine Strategies RDEd Framework brought together informed, tested, hands-on expertise in AIEd policy, practice, and research.

While global efforts to integrate AI in education are expanding, many regions—particularly in Africa—continue to face systemic barriers such as socioeconomic inequities, linguistic and cultural diversity, gender disparities, disability inclusion challenges, and limited access to electricity, internet, and digital devices. These constraints underscore the urgent need for REdDTech interventions pursued under the USA–Africa AIEd Initiative. The Academy’s mission directly addresses these gaps through the Nine Stakeholders-Nine Strategies Framework