600+ learners. One community.

A community of learners across Africa shaping the future of AI.

Join 600+ learners across Africa building the skills, connections, and research mindset to solve real-world problems with AI using the Google DeepMind AI Research Foundations curriculum.

Need help? Contact the team

A globe centred on Africa with country flags, connected to learners from across the continent

Learn Connect Build Make an impact Learn Connect Build Make an impact Learn Connect Build Make an impact

About the virtual community cohort

A pan-African community of learners building modern AI research skills.

This virtual cohort brings together learners from across Africa who are passionate about AI research. Together, we learn from a world-class curriculum, support each other's growth, build real projects, and prepare to lead the next wave of AI innovation on the continent.

The courses

Eight courses, built from the ground up

You start by building a small language model, then add the techniques that turn it into a modern AI system, and finish with a real-world capstone. Scroll to climb the stack.

01 Build Your Own Small Language Model Establish the foundational concepts required to implement a small language model from scratch. View on Google Skills

02 Represent Your Language Data Master the techniques for preparing text data, specifically focusing on tokenization, embeddings, and vector representation. View on Google Skills

03 Design and Train Neural Networks Implement and evaluate neural networks like the multilayer perceptron while learning to diagnose and mitigate issues like overfitting. View on Google Skills

04 Discover the Transformer Architecture Investigate the core mechanisms of the transformer architecture, by implementing self-attention and multi-head attention. View on Google Skills

05 Fine-tune Your Model Apply transfer learning techniques to adapt the pre-trained model for specific tasks using a smaller, targeted dataset. View on Google Skills

06 Align Your Model Implement safety and alignment techniques (RLHF) to ensure the model outputs are helpful, harmless, and honest. View on Google Skills

07 Accelerate Your Model Optimise the model's performance for faster inference and reduced latency using quantization techniques. View on Google Skills

08 Capstone Project Develop your model for real-world impact: synthesise all learnt skills to deploy a fully functional model that solves a tangible real-world problem. View on Google Skills

Get onboarded

Getting started, step by step

A simple path to get set up, meet the community, and start learning with confidence.

Create your account
Join the Discord community
Introduce yourself in #introductions
Set your learning goals
Start the AI Research Foundations course
Engage, collaborate, and have fun

What you will do

More than a course. A movement.

Learn

Complete the AI Research Foundations course and gain cutting-edge, research and industry-ready skills.

Connect

Build relationships, collaborations, and a strong network of peers that inspire, challenge, and support you.

Build

Work on real-world research projects, hackathons, and challenges, with guidance from mentors who have walked the path.

Make an Impact

Help grow and strengthen a thriving community of AI research learners across Africa.

Get involved

Help shape the community

We cannot do this alone! There are two ways to contribute to the AIMS AI Research Foundations Community.

Call for Volunteer Research Mentors

Help learners turn ideas into research projects.

We’re looking for researchers, AI practitioners, Master’s and PhD students/graduates, and AI enthusiasts with research experience to mentor passionate and enthusiastic learners from across Africa working on research projects related to the Google DeepMind AI Research Foundations curriculum.

Interested in becoming a Research Mentor?

Become a Research Mentor

Call for Guest Lectures

Share your expertise with the community.

We’re looking for researchers, practitioners, and industry experts who are interested in delivering guest lectures on AI research, emerging technologies, and topics related to the Google DeepMind AI Research Foundations curriculum.

Topics could include

Multilingual NLP
Language Models
Fine-Tuning and Model Adaptation
Neural Networks and Deep Learning
Agentic AI
AI Safety and Alignment
GPU Optimisation and Model Acceleration
Responsible AI
AI Governance and Ethics
and more

Interested in giving a guest lecture?

Email us at ai-research-foundations@aims.ac.za with your name, affiliation, proposed topic, and a short bio or profile link.

Email Us

Have another way you’d like to contribute? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch

Need help?

Our team is here for you. Reach out any time.

Contact the team

Join our Discord community

Connect, collaborate, and grow. Be part of the conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about joining the community and learning with us. Still curious? Ask us any time on Discord.

What is AI Research Foundations?

AI Research Foundations is a practical curriculum from Google DeepMind that teaches you how to build and understand modern AI systems, from small language models to transformers, through hands-on projects. The virtual community cohort is a supportive space where learners across Africa work through it together.

Who can join this community?

Anyone across Africa who is curious about AI research and willing to learn. Students, graduates, researchers, and professionals are all welcome. A basic comfort with programming helps, but the curriculum starts from the fundamentals.

Is there a cost to join?

No. The community and the AI Research Foundations curriculum on Google Skills are completely free. All you need is your time and commitment.

How do I get help if I am stuck?

Ask in the Discord community. Peers and the team are there to help, and the weekly conversations and study groups mean you are never learning alone. You can also reach the team by email any time.

What if I fall behind in the course?

That is completely fine. The curriculum is self-paced, so you can learn at a rhythm that fits your life. Jump back in whenever you are ready, and lean on the community to catch up.