Meet Babatunde Adegoke, MS–Social Impact track

Creative Technologist

Babatunde Adegoke
Backstory

I grew up in a small town/village in Osun State, Nigeria. While in elementary school, I was introduced to the computer and my instructor said, “It can be used to play games.”  That sentence alone made me fall in love with computing! My parents were not rich enough to be able to buy a game or computer for me, so I would visit cyber cafes, check for unused tickets, and use them to browse the internet. My first email address from that time is still functional today!

After high school, I went for computer desktop training and then moved to hardware engineering training. I was recruited to be a trainer as a high school graduate, and I found myself training college students from University Industrial Training. I thought college education in that area must be limited if I was tutoring college students. So, I began my major in statistics, but I managed to design the department’s first website during my time there.

After receiving my diploma, I went to work and I kept asking myself, “What makes technology work for the people?”

My interest for Information Communication Technology for Development (Social Impact) came as a result of my work over the years, which is always about service to the people and the question on how to leverage technology for service.

The decision to attend graduate school was really not one that I was prepared for because it happened so fast and my thought process was: “If I don’t go now, I will never go.”

Why CU Boulder?

In 2016, I was in the United States as an international election observer, and I was invited to a luncheon by the El Pomal Foundation in Colorado Springs through the office of the Secretary of State. During the luncheon, I was told about a great program at the University of Colorado Boulder.

After the luncheon, I looked at the university's website, and I saw the Information Communication Technology for Development master's program. It looked like the program I had been waiting for all of my life! It piqued my curiosity instantly, so much that I don't remember how I booked myself for a meetup with the program coordinator.

The timing could not have been more perfect! At that point in my professional career, my email was filled with requests from my program assistants across Nigeria who asked me how to use the platform I created to reach more people in rural communities. I saw this program as a perfect answer to these email requests, and this feeling made it necessary for me to apply for the program.

I came to CU Boulder solely for the Information Communication Technology for Development program and then found myself in a community that I love. The level of energy here, the practicality of the courses, and the labs are beyond my expectations. I have been able to work with laser machines, electronics and other wonderful courses and tools.

At ATLAS I have been able to read and research broadly because my course is interdisciplinary, and this enabled me to understand the question I set out to answer: What makes technology work for the people? I have also met some amazing contacts who I value very much. 

If not for CU Boulder, I wouldn’t have seen the world as well as I do now, and I would not have dared to ask the more detailed and specific questions that enables me to move forward.

Coursework 

Core:

  • Global Development
  • ICTD Case Studies
  •  Fieldwork Methods
  • ICTD Laboratory

Electives:

  • Big Data Architecture
  • Product Development Studio
  • Physical Computer Interfaces
  • ATLAS Master's Independent Study: project managment

Sample Projects

ICTD Social Impact Practicum Project: Building the Capacity of Small Business Owners in Nigeria

  • Problem = The terrible odds stacked against young people trying to get jobs in NIgeria
  • Focus = Knowledge managment system for small business workers 
  • Final Product = Building the Capacity of Small Business Owners in Nigeria