The Beginning of a Dream 🏁
The Ramadan Coding Challenge RCC25 was a competition I had been waiting for over a year, preparing myself mentally and emotionally.
One day, as I was constantly checking the MTI Institute page, I kept hoping for an opportunity to show up.
A friend’s success in the 2024 edition deeply inspired me, becoming my greatest motivation.
I decided to prepare myself and grab the opportunity when it arrived.
Days of Hope ✨
📅 March 2, 2025:Joy and hope filled my heart — a whole year of waiting finally showed visible signs!
Another post was released, announcing the 3 types of competitions in RCC25.
My hope grew even stronger, and my heart eagerly waited for the application day.
The application process opened!
Overwhelmed with excitement, I quickly submitted my application.
I held on to a big belief: “If you want to succeed, start by believing in yourself.”
The Message of Joy🎉📅 March 22, 2025:
Another post appeared — “Please check your email to see your application result.”
Alhamdulillah! I received the message I was hoping for — I was accepted!
I was overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude.
But the journey didn’t stop there...
The Real Test: The Interview 🎙️
I knew acceptance alone wasn’t enough —
The next stage was the interview, the most challenging part of the selection process.
📅 Interview Time:
Even while I was working, and with Eid just around the corner, I managed to find time for the interview.
Alhamdulillah, I performed well and confidently presented both my skills and personal brand.
The post announcing interview results was published...
When I checked my email, I felt an unmatched joy:
I passed! I was accepted! I advanced to the Ramadan Coding Challenge RCC25!
The Start of Team Work 👩🏽💻👨🏽💻
I was fortunate to join Team 1 — the only team that combined both Web Development and an AI project.
I was genuinely excited because I had recently focused heavily on learning Artificial Intelligence and already earned a professional certification.
The Chosen Project 🎯
We decided to solve a very important problem:
“How to improve education for Somali students, especially in Science and Technology Terminology.”
We explored the reasons behind students' underperformance in Technology subjects at the high school level.
The biggest issues were:
- Scientific terms not being translated into Somali
- Students finding the subject boring and overwhelming
We made a firm decision:
To create an AI system that Named Hage, so Somali students can understand easily.
Project Phases 🛠️
- We searched for a tech book written by a Somali teacher.
- We collected the relevant scientific terminology.
- We cleaned and processed the data using 9 steps of Data Preprocessing.
- We trained an AI Model.
- We integrated it into an intelligent system.
After that:
We worked day and night.
Some of us would meet in the city and work together until 11:30 PM!
Finally, we launched our system with an AI Support feature (Chatbot) to interact with students.
Motivation from Our Mentor 🤝🏽
We had an amazing mentor — NUXUR.
He encouraged us during the night we presented our project.
The gathering at the hotel became a memory I’ll always treasure:
“I felt joy, confidence, and a real sense of progress.”
The Pitch Day 📣
📅 April 20, 2025 — 10:00 AM:Pitching Day officially began.
I was honored to be among the representatives who pitched our project.
Together with the whole team, we confidently presented our solution.
We even took a memorable group photo!
I want to sincerely thank my teammates:
- Najma
- Faaiza
- Ismaaciil
- Mohamed
- Ahmed
- Zakiariye
And of course, our amazing mentor NUXUR — thank you so much.
Project Overview & Demo 🎥
This project was designed to solve a real educational challenge in Somali high schools — the difficulty students face in understanding science and technology terms due to lack of translation in the Somali language. Our platform is built to make these concepts easier through AI-powered Somali translations.
🖥️ Below is a snapshot of how the platform looks and functions:
If you'd like to see how the system actually works in action, watch the video below.
What’s Next? 🚀
Now that our AI system is up and running, the next step is to take it even further.
We plan to:
- Expand the platform’s terminology database
- Train the AI to cover more science subjects
- Partner with Somali high schools and institutions for real-life integration
- Collect feedback from students to improve the learning experience
My ultimate goal is to make learning science and technology easier, more relatable, and more engaging for Somali students across the country.
Conclusion & Hope 🎊
The Ramadan Coding Challenge RCC25 was an unforgettable journey for me.
I gained skills, knowledge, new friends, and self-confidence.
Finally, I would like to thank MTI Institute and the entire MTI Family for offering this valuable opportunity to Somali youth.
And my hope remains:
To successfully complete my journey in the Ramadan Coding Challenge RCC25.
Thank you! 🙏🏽
Written by: Sakariye Daahir Ahmed (Zack Daahir)