Zambia's IIOE National Centre at Mulungushi University trained 110+ educators across 10 institutions in generative-AI teaching methods, reporting a self-assessed 92% jump in AI-teaching confidence, then convened officials to draft the country's first national generative-AI-in-edu
110 educators (over)
Educators trained
10
Partner institutions
92 % (self-assessed)
Self-reported increase in AI-teaching confidence
300 students (over)
Students earning Huawei-backed certifications
Details
Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Mulungushi University (IIOE Zambia National Centre), UNESCO-ICHEI
Period
2024–2025
Keywords
AI in higher education, teacher training, AI policy & governance
Context
UNESCO's International Institute of Online Education (IIOE), funded by the Tencent Charity Foundation, set up a national centre at Mulungushi University in Kapiri Mposhi as one of Zambia's higher-education digitalisation hubs, holding an "AI-Driven Higher Education" summit with Education Minister Douglas Syakalima on 12 May 2025.
Activities
In phase one, Mulungushi's own teaching staff completed two IIOE flagship AI-teaching courses; phase two expanded the training to ten partner institutions, with courses enriched with localised Zambian content, on-site technical support and industry partners BongoHive and Huawei.
Results
Over 110 educators completed the training, self-reporting a 92% increase in confidence using AI for teaching, learning and assessment, while more than 300 students earned Huawei-backed certifications in AI, IoT and cloud computing; in July 2025 Zambia's Ministry of Education worked with Mulungushi's Dr Brian Halubanza to draft the country's first national policy on generative AI in higher and TEVET education, covering academic integrity, data privacy and digital equity.
Conclusions
The confidence figure is self-reported by training completers rather than independently verified, and the national AI-in-education policy remains in draft rather than adopted.
Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Short (< 1 year)
Staffing & skills
Mulungushi University's IIOE Zambia National Centre, working with UNESCO-ICHEI, Ministry of Education officials (Brian Makufele) and Dr Brian Halubanza, plus industry partners BongoHive and Huawei.
Conditions for success
A phased plan (starting with Mulungushi's own staff before expanding to ten institutions) with localised Zambian course content and on-site technical support.
Direct government involvement (the Education Minister and Ministry officials) in both the training summit and the national policy drafting.
Common failure modes
The reported 92% confidence increase is self-assessed with no described methodology or independent verification.
The national generative-AI-in-education policy remains in draft, not yet adopted.
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Data sources
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