Stellenbosch University Student Heads Online Learning Platform To Help Bridge Digital Divide

Stellenbosch University Student Heads Online Learning Platform To Help Bridge Digital Divide. Student by day, and CEO, and startup founder on the side – Alexandra Lutz, who is currently in her first year of a data science degree at Stellenbosch University (SU), started the online learning platform Milani Education while she was still in high school.

Now comprising three directors and a content manager, Milani Education has been named as one of seven startups from SU that will compete in the regional round of the EDHE (Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education) Entrepreneurship Intervarsity 2024 competition taking place from 26 August. This competition highlights top student entrepreneurs from 26 public universities around the country.

Milani Education also recently partnered with the Pebbles Project in Stellenbosch to help children from surrounding farming communities access educational resources. They will be able to access the Milani platform from devices at Pebbles’ learning centres so that they can use the free online material for homework and revision.

The nonprofit organisation was launched in 2020 during the pandemic when Lutz was a Grade 9 learner at St. John’s Diocesan School for Girls (D.S.G.) in Pietermaritzburg. She realised that while most of her peers were able to transition seamlessly to digital learning when schools were forced to close, there were many students who did not have the same access to online materials. With the permission of her headmaster, Lutz started sharing digital materials such as worksheets and videos with a few learners from the Imbeleko Foundation, based in the rural KwaZulu-Natal community of KwaNyuswa.

Initially, Lutz worked with three learners – twins who were also in Grade 9 and a Grade 8. “These three learners were extremely eager to learn and had lost nearly a month of learning time when I first made contact.” Lutz says her team sent out surveys every week to assess their online learning experience and the feedback was encouragingly positive. “This inspired us to continue with the initiative and work towards creating the platform.” The company’s name, which means ‘to grow’ in isiZulu, was suggested by the assistant chaplain at St John’s D.S.G. Lutz thought it fitting as “education leads to exponential growth for a person both mentally as well as professionally.”

After three years of “pilot project” work, Lutz secured seed funding to develop a prototype for an online platform and in 2023 Milani Education was launched with content sourced the year before while Lutz was still in Grade 11. In preparation, Lutz connected with schools such as Maritzburg College, St John’s D.S.G. and SIMI Math, to secure online maths content and in the December holidays, a group of Grade 11 learners from St John’s DSG formed the “Milani army” to have it edited and uploaded in time for the launch.

Former classmate Sienna Porrill, who was part of the genesis of Milani Education when with Lutz in high school, is still involved in the project. She was part of the team of volunteers also from SU helping learners set up their profiles on the Milani platform this weekend. “Alex has always been an inspiration. While we were passing time (in high school) during lockdown doing puzzles, she was finding ways to start an online learning platform.”

Milani Education is a free online learning platform that provides educational content from the current curriculum for learners in grades 8 to 12 across South Africa. The content is donated to the startup from reputable schools, at no cost. Currently, it serves about 800 learners who have access to more than 1 000 videos that they can use as a supplementary education tool. The easy-to-use Milani Education website offers Mathematics, English Home Language and English First Additional Language (FAL). Lutz adds that they are moderating content for Mathematical Literacy which should be launched soon.

Expansion plans

Once the team expands, and secures further funding, Milani Education will offer more of the main school subjects, says Lutz. Milani plans to broaden its network of partner schools to make more teachers available online to students. The team also wants to translate the content to Afrikaans, isiZulu and isiXhosa, and to optimise the platform for data efficiency.

Lutz also has her sights set on starting a learning centre for the Embo community in KwaZulu-Natal. “We want to bridge the educational divide in our country by providing a safe place for students to learn regardless of the geographic setting or social status. Our vision is to democratise education so that all students have access to a world-class education right in the palm of their hands,” notes Alexandra.

Balancing act

Lutz admits that staying motivated has been a challenge for herself and the team. “As a young entrepreneur in the non-profit space, I have been faced with many rejections and had lots of moments where it feels as if we are not making any progress.” But Lutz describes herself as someone who is “stubbornly determined” and she refuses to accept ‘no’ for an answer.Balancing work with her studies means that Lutz must manage her time wisely. She says she “compartmentalises” her day to be available for both. She says the team, which now comprises a board of three directors and a content manager, is solution-driven and not afraid to navigate hurdles.

Milani Education’s selection for the regionals of the EDHE competition will give the team an opportunity to network with fellow young entrepreneurs, says Lutz. “Being able to pitch our initiatives in the regional round allows us to share our vision and initiative with a diverse pool of people and hopefully make some great connections.”

Lutz has no intention of easing up on her entrepreneurial pursuits once she graduates. She hopes to be able to hand over the daily running of Milani Education to a team so that she can pursue other ventures in the startup space. “But Milani will always be my baby.”