Sujood from Sudan: An Open Learner's Story

Sujood Khalid Eldouma recently relocated to the UK for her master’s studies, having previously lived in Egypt after fleeing her native Sudan to escape the devastating civil war in that country. Sujood holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Khartoum, but her ambitions extend far beyond the field she was trained in. She recently graduated from the MIT Emerging Talent certificate program in Computer and Data Science and is pursuing a MicroMasters in statistics and data science through the support of MIT Emerging Talent. In this episode, we hear how Sujood and her classmates at the university in Khartoum used MIT OpenCourseWare lecture videos as the basis of a group learning experience, in which knowledge was shared and lasting friendships were formed. We also hear how Sujood is pursuing her current online studies not just as a means of self-improvement but as part of the groundwork for a much bigger, future project: helping to rebuild Sudan’s educational and scientific infrastructure when peace comes to that country. “I'm not doing it just for myself,” she says. “I'm not doing it just for my family, but in the bigger picture and with a heart filled with hope.” 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 MicroMasters Program in Statistics and Data Science (https://micromasters.mit.edu/ds/) 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 open_learners_pod@mit.edu. 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 @ 617-7