Jamiu Idowu

What are you doing now?

I am currently running Sahel AI, a startup I co-founded after my MSc at UCL Computer Science. Sahel AI builds a legal AI solution for lawyers to draft and review contracts fast, directly in MS Word. I am currently based in Lagos, Nigeria.

What positive impact are you witnessing from the work you do?

My company is focused on helping lawyers save time on routine tasks like contract drafting and review. They can then spend that time on critical things like client advocacy and strategic work.

Our platform also helps lawyers identify red flags making sure they spot any hidden clauses that may get their clients into trouble. On average, we save a lawyer 13.3 hours per week.

How did you go about founding your own company?

During my Master’s at UCL Computer Science, I took an elective module, Technology Entrepreneurship. We had the class every Friday from 3-6 PM, and one thing I liked about the module is that we had industry leaders who came to deliver lectures every week.

I always left the class inspired, and I remember vividly when I walked to Warren Street Station every Friday, I told myself, I will build a company.

In a nutshell, I had already planned to start a company, even before graduation. During that time, I put in for the SustainTech Startup Pitch competition organised by the UCL School of Management, and my startup idea won the Best Idea award.

That was before graduation, and it gave me the confidence to believe I was on the right path, so immediately after I completed my degree in September 2023, I started the company formally the following month, October 2023.

How did the AI for Sustainable Development MSc help you get to where you are today?

I love the way the programme is structured with foundations in Term 1, application in Term 2, and a research project in Term 3. What’s even greater is that despite Term 1 being focused on foundations, we were already using AI to solve real-world problems via our coursework in Term 1.

For instance, in the AI for Sustainable Development module, each student had to pick a dataset related to a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, e.g. education, environment, healthcare, etc., and build an AI model.

Additionally, the department also supported in getting external partners like AI companies and organisations where students could do their MSc projects in collaboration with a supervisor at UCL.

I am a direct beneficiary of this as: 1) I proposed my own project and 2) I did my research in collaboration with Holistic AI – a leading AI governance startup in London, founded by two UCL alumni.

There are a lot of Master’s degrees in AI, what made you choose to focus on sustainable development?

I think this is the best programme I could have studied because it is highly interdisciplinary. You are first trained to become an AI engineer, then you apply AI to solve real-world sustainability issues.

Globally, there is so much talk about AI for Good, but most are just “all talk with no action”. This programme is one that is walking the talk.

Before this programme, I was the Country Manager of HP IDEA, a teacher innovation programme by HP. One of the things I noticed was that teachers have too much workload and this means they don’t have enough time to provide personalised support for students.

So, how can we build an AI-based teacher support system? I chose this programme to find an answer and I got a valuable one. In fact, my research project was on AI in Education.

Can you tell us about a memorable project or piece of work you did during your time at UCL?

I will say my research project in Term 3. It focused on investigating algorithmic bias in student progress monitoring. I found out that pursuing algorithmic fairness does not necessarily harm model performance as was previously believed.

Also, I realised that institutional data is the most biased while assessment data is the least biased. After completing the research, I told myself, now, I am truly an AI researcher.

In fact, I published two peer-reviewed papers from my MSc Research. The first is a systematic literature review titled “Debiasing Education Algorithms” published by Springer Nature in the International Journal of AI in Education.

The second one is titled “Investigating Algorithmic Bias in Student Progress Monitoring” published by Elsevier in Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence.

What was your cohort of fellow students like?

The greatest thing I appreciate about this programme is the multiple nationalities it brought together and the opportunity to learn from different cultures.

In my cohort, I had colleagues from Germany, China, India, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Belarus, Russia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the USA, Spain, France, etc. I am from Nigeria. The networking opportunity was surreal, and to this day, we keep in contact.

Being in this cohort made London feel like a home away from home. As I speak to you right now, we have a meetup planned in our WhatsApp group at a jazz bar in a few days’ time.

We have done many things together like taking a trip to Brighton, organising birthday dinners, celebrating the Chinese New Year at Trafalgar Square, among many others.

What is the student community like at UCL, especially for international students?

Whatever you are interested in, there is always a student society for you to join. And if you can’t find one, the good thing is that you can start one. I joined the African and Caribbean Student Society as well as the AI Society; and they afforded me the opportunity to connect with young leaders of like minds.

UCL, as a whole, is all about the students; this university is designed to make the students comfortable and flourish. Everything you need is just one email away. Don’t hesitate to approach your lecturers and other members of staff if you need any support. The student community is also very vibrant.

What are some of the things you most enjoyed about living in London?

The first one is regarding my programme, London is the AI capital of Europe. So, you get access to the most important AI events in London. Second, I love the transportation system, especially the London Underground.

The city also has something I easily resonate with; before coming to London for my programme, I was living in Lagos which is known for its hustle and bustle; London has exactly that spirit.

Also, for someone like me who likes to travel, there is no better city to live in than London as I can easily travel to any city or country.

What advice or insight would you share with prospective students considering the Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development MSc?

• As soon as you start your MSc, you should ask yourself, what’s next after this MSc? That will help you get the most out of the programme and work towards achieving your goals.
   
• Use the NPK philosophy. This is my personal philosophy for anyone going to school;
  N – Network vigorously;
  P – Problem solving and Critical Thinking (focus on that); and
  K – Knowledge (acquire it).
  Many people focus on the K alone and that’s a mistake. A global top ten university like UCL has more to offer beyond knowledge, take advantage of that.
   
• Avoid the Domino Effect: Try to stick to deadlines because if you don’t, it will be difficult to reset, as failure to meet one deadline will affect the next one. You should only seek an extension when absolutely necessary.

What is next for you?

I will continue to build my startup, Sahel AI. We have already launched in Nigeria, and we are launching in Saudi Arabia in February 2025. Our plan is to scale across Africa and the Middle East. Sometime in the future, I would like to get a PhD.

Want to learn more about our Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development MSc? 

Visit our online prospectus where you will find detailed information about Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development MSc. You will be able to browse modules, learn more about our teaching and learning, and explore the skills and knowledge you'll develop on this programme.  

The information on this page reflects the alumnus' status at the time of publication (February 2025).