Prologue: Designing for Human Transformation

The Future of Learning & Technology

In June 2015 I said goodbye to life as I knew it and moved to Africa to build the future of learning and technology.I was living in Trenton, the small, destitute capital of New Jersey. For two abundant and harrowing years, I designed education programs at an inner-city high school, started an after-school arts program with The College of New Jersey, and taught martial arts.

But these opportunities were too short-lived, too small, not quite right. I was looking for greater impact and the opportunity for more profound personal transformation through my work. So I said goodbye. I broke up with my girlfriend, said goodbye to all my friends, quit my job, and packed up all my worldly possessions. I had no idea what I was going to do next. A few days later, I happened to meet the CEO of Andela in a restaurant. Three weeks after that I was on a one-way flight to Nigeria. I had found the transformative opportunity that I had been searching for 5,000 miles away from home.

Designing for Human Transformation

Welcome to the Designing for Human Transformation series. In this series, we will be sharing the lessons we have learned from creating the world’s first immersive simulations program for software developers, a program that enables transformative professional development for our large and growing community of talent.

I boarded that flight to Nigeria to dedicate my life to accelerating the development of the next generation of technology leaders — the 0.5% of applicants accepted into Andela. Over the past year-and-a-half I have led an intensive soft skills learning program, built a team to establish a culture of learning in our organization, and designed the Andela Simulations program — a learning experience that borrows from the techniques of elite training methods in the military, medicine, and aeronautics to accelerate the learning of Africa’s most talented developers.The future of learning will be written in Lagos, Nairobi, and cities across Africa. Stay tuned to follow my story, discover the principles we employ to develop talent in our organization, and learn how you too can design for human transformation in your work.Click here for Episode One of the Designing for Human Transformation Series: Building the Future of Software Development through Immersive Simulations