Game of Learners

A Microsoft Africa Development Center (ADC) initiative, the Game of Learners (GOL) engages directly with students regardless of the higher education institution they come from. The program’s main objective is to establish a fun, hands-on learning experience for students. Born virtual, GOL is a program without borders. It provides a virtual environment where students learn computer science technologies and practices hands-on while they build impactful solutions for their community. All GOL activities are supported by volunteers from Microsoft and partners as coaches, mentors, judges, speakers and trainers.

GOL is formed like a sports league, starting with a season, and followed by off-season clinics and exhibitions.

GOL Season

An annual virtual hackathon spanning multiple weeks, where participants learn new technologies to build products/solutions that address the current Challenge. It provides a platform for Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors (MLSA) to hone their leadership skills as Team Captains while leading and building impactful solutions with the Learners. The participants’ journey is documented and released online as a weekly episode on the GOL Show.

Watch the GOL show videos here

GOL Clinics

Led by ADC Software Engineers, the clinics are modularized post-season sessions covering a variety of programming topics. The objective is to provide specialized coaching and training for students seeking to acquire hands-on experience and cultivate a learner-led developer community.
For details, go to https://aka.ms/golclinics.

There are two types of clinics:

• The Fundamentals -> focused on software engineering
• Program Management -> project-based learning focused on program and project management

Watch recorded video from the clinics here

GOL Exhibitions

Targeted for technical schools and organizations in the region, a GOL Exhibition is a slim version of the Season whereby students in the school still compete in a 5-week hackathon but without a GOL Show. The host school/organization provides participants that are divided into groups of five to solve a given challenge. Depending on the host, alumni from previous Seasons may be invited to hack alongside the participants. Microsoft ADC then provides training and mentorship. The final projects are judged by the host and ADC, and a winner selected.