WAAA Newsletters

WAAA WEEKLY BRIEFING

World AI Academies Association (WAAA)  |  www.waaa.academy  |  To unsubscribe, reply with 'unsubscribe'

 For AI Academies and Universities Teaching AI — with a focus on Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Week ending Saturday 27 June 2026  |  Published by WAAA  |  www.waaa.academy

WEBINAR UPDATE

Webinar W006 on the Brain Drain Crisis- Keeping AI Talent at Home was completed on Saturday 20 June 2026. The video on this topic will be uploaded soon on YouTube channel @AIGrandad999.alanross and to our 10 language-specific channels (e.g. @AIGrandad999.alanross.Spanish, @AIGrandad999.alanross.Hindi, etc.) .) where we have now translated and uploaded our existing and new English language videos on many important topics of interest to those in the developing world. There are over 20 long and 12 short videos on each channel covering AI and major technical disruptions now underway which will severely impact your country, different sectors and different groups in your country. We encourage you to view and share these with your networks and ask them to visit and subscribe to the relevant language channels so they can be notified every time a new video is uploaded.

Our next free webinar, W007, is planned for Saturday 4 July at 1pm Dublin on the topic: "Digital Infrastructure - The Foundation that AI Needs." For AI academies, this is essential: without reliable infrastructure, your students cannot access AI tools, your curricula cannot include cloud computing, and your graduates cannot compete. This webinar will show what governments can do and what academies can advocate for.

Register now: https://waaa.academy/registration-for-webinar/

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

1. UNESCO GLOBAL SKILLS ACADEMY: TRAINING 500,000 TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN AI BY END OF 2026

UNESCO's Global Skills Academy, launched in 2025, is now in active delivery, with an ambitious target to train and certify over 500,000 teachers and students in responsible AI use by the end of 2026, leveraging UNESCO's global network of TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) institutions. The programme equips educators to use AI responsibly, effectively, and confidently. Complementing this, Rwanda has partnered with Anthropic to develop AI lessons in local Rwandan languages, while Kenya has partnered with Microsoft to build similar localised AI learning tools- demonstrating that AI education can and must be adapted to local linguistic and cultural contexts as we have been advocating in previous webinars and our YouTube videos .

Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: WAAA academies should investigate whether their institutions can connect to UNESCO's Global Skills Academy network and access its training materials and certification pathways. The Rwanda-Anthropic and Kenya-Microsoft models show that partnering with major AI companies to create local-language content is achievable- WAAA academies in other countries should explore similar approaches. If 500,000 teachers and students are being trained globally, your academy needs to be part of that number.

Source: UNESCO — unesco.org

2. UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS LAUNCHES AFRICA'S FIRST OPENAI ACADEMY — A LANDMARK FOR AFRICAN AI EDUCATION

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has been selected by OpenAI as the home of Africa's first OpenAI Academy — a landmark moment for AI education across the continent. Nigeria was selected due to its vibrant technology ecosystem and UNILAG's position as the continent's leading innovation hub. The Academy offers intensive programmes in machine learning, data science, natural language processing, and responsible AI development, with the pioneer cohort having commenced in early 2026. The initiative is explicitly designed to produce AI talent equipped for African realities, not just global markets.

Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: This is a model that every WAAA academy should study closely. OpenAI has demonstrated willingness to partner with African institutions_ WAAA academies that can make the case for their local ecosystem should actively pursue similar partnerships. The UNILAG model also validates the core WAAA argument: that world-class AI education can and should happen in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, not just in North America and Europe. Share this news with your government contacts, it is concrete evidence that global AI leaders are investing in developing world AI education and that those with capabilities in local languages have competitive advantage .

Source: UNILAG — unilag.edu.ng | TechBuild Africa — techbuild.africa

3. AFRICAN YOUTH AI COMPETITION 2026 — APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR STUDENTS ACROSS THE CONTINENT

The African Youth AI Competition 2026 has officially opened its application window, inviting young people from across the continent to compete in artificial intelligence and robotics. The competition is pan-African in scope and provides participants with a platform to develop and showcase AI solutions to real-world problems facing the continent. This follows growing momentum in AI youth engagement across Africa, with institutions across sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East expanding AI education strategies to incorporate youth-focused competitions and project-based learning.

Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: WAAA academies should encourage every eligible student to apply for this competition. Competitions build skills, create networks, and generate the kind of tangible AI project experience that employers and graduate programmes seek. Academies that have strong competition results become magnets for the best students. If your academy does not yet have a structured pathway to support students entering AI competitions, now is the time to build one. The application window is open - act now.

Source: Squared Tech — squaredtech.co

4. PAKISTAN REQUIRES ALL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TO TAKE AN AI COURSE — A POLICY MODEL FOR EVERY COUNTRY

Pakistan's Higher Education Commission has issued a landmark directive: all university students in Pakistan, regardless of their field of study, must complete at least one AI-related course as a condition of graduation. This makes Pakistan one of the first countries in the developing world to mandate AI literacy at the national higher education level. The policy reflects growing recognition that AI fluency is no longer a specialist skill but a fundamental competency for every graduate entering the modern workforce.

Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: This is the policy WAAA has been advocating for: national AI literacy mandates that create guaranteed demand for AI education at scale. WAAA academies in countries without such a mandate should use Pakistan's policy as a direct comparator when lobbying their governments. If Pakistan can do it, your country can too. The practical implication for WAAA academies is significant: a national AI literacy mandate immediately creates curriculum partnerships, outsourced delivery opportunities, and a large captive student population that needs quality AI instruction.

Source: Stanford AI Index 2026 | Higher Education Strategy Associates

5. UNCTAD WARNING: AI INVESTMENT DIVIDE THREATENS TO LOCK LMIC ACADEMIES OUT OF THE AI ECONOMY

A new UNCTAD analysis confirms that the global AI investment boom is dangerously concentrated: 75% of FDI to developing economies flows to just ten countries, and just 100 US and Chinese firms account for 40% of global AI R&D spending. The World Bank's assessment of AI infrastructure readiness across 15 priority developing countries highlights that most LMICs lack the four foundational 'Cs' for AI readiness: Connectivity, Compute, Context (quality data), and Competency (skills). For AI academies, this means the infrastructure your students need to learn on- cloud computing, GPUs, fast internet- is simply not available in many countries.

Why this matters and opportunities for AI academies: WAAA academies cannot teach modern AI without infrastructure. This report gives you the evidence and the language to make the case to your government: digital infrastructure is not a luxury- it is the prerequisite for AI education, AI enterprise, and AI-driven development. Use these findings in your advocacy. Identify which of the four Cs your country is weakest on and build your government engagement strategy around closing that gap. WAAA will continue to share practical guidance on low-infrastructure AI teaching approaches for academies in the most constrained environments.

Source: UNCTAD — unctad.org | World Bank — worldbank.org

UPCOMING WEBINAR — Webinar W007

Digital Infrastructure — The Foundation that AI Needs

Saturday 4 July 2026  |  1:00pm Dublin (IST) / 8:00am New York / 8:00pm Singapore / 2:00pm Lagos

Free to attend — open to all AI Academies and community

AI academies cannot function without digital infrastructure - yet in many LMIC countries, reliable electricity, affordable internet, and accessible computing power are not guaranteed. This webinar examines what governments and institutions can do to build the infrastructure layer that makes AI education possible: from low-bandwidth teaching approaches to national data centre strategies, from solar-powered computing labs to cloud voucher programmes. Particularly relevant for academies in countries with significant infrastructure constraints.

Register now: https://waaa.academy/registration-for-webinar/

Is your academy a WAAA member? Join the World AI Academies Association (WAAA)- the global network building AI training capacity in the developing world. Annual membership from €50 for NGO academies in low/middle-income countries and large discounts and opportunities for income earning for those appointed as WAAA country coordinators. Contact alan.ross@waaa.academy if interested in becoming a WAAA country coordinator to expand our network in your country .  Soon these weekly newsletter updates and opportunities will be available only to those who are members of WAAA. Join now so you do not miss out.

#AIEducation #EdTech #AIAcademies #WAAA #LMICs #GlobalSouth #SDGs #TeacherTraining #AIinEducation #CapacityBuilding

World AI Academies Association (WAAA)  |  www.waaa.academy  |  To unsubscribe, reply with 'unsubscribe'