Chalk Radio Podcast - Jerry from Uganda: An Open Learner's Story

They say every crisis also presents an opportunity. Open learner Jerry Vance Anguzu seized one such opportunity in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, when his native country of Uganda went into lockdown. Jerry was stuck at home, unable to earn a living, but that enforced inactivity gave him the chance to pursue new directions in his education. A few years earlier, he had discovered MIT OpenCourseWare and had seen what it had to offer; now he returned to MIT Open Learning resources in earnest, plowing through courses in data science and computer programming; soon thereafter he was accepted into the MIT Emerging Talent certificate, where he began to develop an interest in entrepreneurship. Now, just a few years later, Jerry has his own startup, Everpesa Technologies, a financial services platform that offers sustainable investment opportunities and financial literacy resources to people in sub-Saharan Africa. Along the way, he has become a self-described “OCW ambassador,” enthusiastically spreading the word to relatives and colleagues about the learning resources that are available online through MIT OpenCourseWare. “You don’t need to pay anything,” Jerry tells them. “You just need to have a bit of time.” The Open Learners podcast is produced by Alexis Haut and hosted by Emmanuel Kasigazi and Michael Jordan Pilgreen. Relevant Resources: MIT OpenCourseWare (https://ocw.mit.edu/) The OCW Educator portal (https://ocw.mit.edu/educator) MIT Emerging Talent program (https://emergingtalent.mit.edu/) MIT Jameel World Education Lab (https://www.jwel.mit.edu/) MIT MicroMasters Program in Statistics and Data Science (https://micromasters.mit.edu/ds/) Everpesa website (https://everpesa.com/) 6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python on MIT OpenCourseWare (https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-0001-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-in-python-fall-2016/) Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/) Share Your Open Learning Story To share your own open learning story with Michael and Emmanuel, send them an email at [email protected]. Connect with Us If you have a suggestion for a new episode or have used OCW to change your life or those of others, tell us your story. We’d love to hear from you! Call us @ 617-715-2517 On our site (https://ocw.mit.edu/contact/) On Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MITOCW/) On X (https://twitter.com/MITOCW) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mitocw/) Stay Current Subscribe to the free monthly "MIT OpenCourseWare Update" e-newsletter. (https://ocw.mit.edu/newsletter/) Subscribe to Chalk Radio (https://chalk-radio.simplecast.com/) Support OCW If you like Chalk Radio and OpenCourseware, donate to help keep these programs going! (https://giving.mit.edu/give/to/ocw/?utm_source=ocw&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=donate) Credits Sarah Hansen, host and producer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-e-hansen/) Brett Paci, producer (https://twitter.com/Brett_Paci) Dave Lishansky, producer (https://twitter.com/DaveResonates) Show notes by Peter Chipman