Photo: AlumNode Projects "Breaking the STEM Gap in Rural Africa"
Alumni Projects by AlumNode Members
From Connecting Arts & Mathematics to Bridging the Gender Gap in STEM
Interdisciplinary Collaborations
AlumNode is all about networking and realizing our communities’ full potential. During our events, we encourage our members to connect, exchange and develop ideas together. During the open call for AlumNode Project Funding, you can apply and receive up to 6.000€ for your joint project. The only prerequisite: you have to realize the project with another AlumNode member. If your project is selected to receive AlumNode Project Funding, you will have the opportunity to present your results and share your experience with the community.
Find out more about the projects that received AlumNode Project Funding in the column on the right.
AlumNode Project Funding 2024
The project phase 2024 has begun on July 8, 2024.
The following projects were selected to receive AlumNode Project Funding:
- ๐๐ผฬฃฬ๐ฬ๐ฑ๐ฒฬ - A mobile platform supporting Nigerian children in learning indigenous languages like Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo, using gamification and AI to preserve linguistic diversity and promote inclusive education. Project Team: Aderonke Sakpere and Halleluyah Aworinde
- ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ฝ - Bridging pop culture and science communication to explore how films, anime, music, comics, and manga can effectively convey scientific concepts beyond entertainment. Project Team: Anna-Sophie Jürgens, Torsten Weber and Stephen Packard
- ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ - Using AI to preserve the spoken cultural heritage of Cameroon's low-resource languages, collecting vocal datasets from elders to create models that accurately pronounce native dialects. Project Team: Harry Winner Kamdem Fezeu and Maryse Manuella Moutamal
- ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ด๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ง, ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ - crop health monitoring in Nigeria by empowering female undergraduate students with AI and IoT technologies, enhancing food security and fostering inclusivity in STEM. Project Team: Nwamaka Okafor and Laeticia Nneka Onyejegbu
- ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: This project integrates philosophical, psychological, and computational approaches to examine online manipulative tactics like dark patterns and recommender systems. It aims to develop ethical frameworks and regulations by bridging theory with empirical research. Project Team: Michael Klenk, Cynthia Liem, Siddharth Mehrotra and Frederic Roemschied
- ๐ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ - Inspiring secondary school girls to pursue STEM fields through seminars, workshops, and competitions, promoting active and responsible engagement in STEM. Project Team: Queensley C. Chukwudum, Chinwendu Madubueze and Christianah T. Oyewale
- ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ - Creating a question and answer card game for mathematicians to facilitate meaningful conversations and networking at academic conferences and gatherings. Project Team: Victoria Kaial and Pedra Andrade
- ๐๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฐ - Tackling youth unemployment in Nigeria by training secondary school graduates in animation and cartoon creation, preparing them to train others and establish a sustainable hub for ongoing education. Project Team: Ninan O. Deborah, Afolabi Adekunle Oluseyi, Iyanda Abimbola Rhoda and Elesemoyo Isaac Olufemi
Important Dates:
- First week of July: Initial confirmations and declines will be sent to the project leaders.
- July 8, 2024: Start of projects
- July 28, 2024: Project writeup deadline
- February, 2025: Mid-term reports
- March, 2025: Mid-term Zoom call
- October 31, 2025: End of projects
- December 1, 2025: Reimbursement of remaining funds
Pankaj Paranwal, Project Leader "eVidya"
Funding Period 2019/2020
"Doing good, valuable and impactful research requires a lot of time, effort and dedication. By removing financial constraints and providing constant mentoring and feedback, AlumNode has provided a sweet spot for young researchers like me where we can focus on doing quality, meaningful research instead of worrying about the financial constraints or not having anyone to talk to about our progress."
Pankaj Baranwal and his team collaborated with the Bal Vikas Montessori School, a community-run school in India to find out the effects, impact and feasibility of introducing interactive e-learning courses in the curriculum at elementary level of education.