EPITECH BENIN

BENIN

EPITECH BENIN

Uri Sharell, Wadham College, Second Year Undergraduate, MPhys Physics, Inperson internship

Work Projects

From the 1st of July to the 2nd September

2021, I have done an internship at EPITECH,

together with Adam Slater, a fellow student

from the University of Oxford. We spent

most of the two months conceptualising and

creating the content for the 2021 Digital

Ninjas Summer Camp, a two-week program for young children / teenagers from 8-18 years to learn coding through various workshops.

We were given the proposed schedule for the Workshops for the two different age groups (08-13 y/o and 14-18 y/o) and a description of what the workshops should be about. In

total, there were seven workshops to create for the summer camp: Workshop web design with HTML/CSS/JS (14-18 years old), Workshop coding with Python (14-18 years old),

Workshop web design with Wix (08-13 years old), Workshop coding with Scratch (08-13 years old), Workshop 3d modelling / augmented reality (08-13 years old), one robotics

workshop for each age group (mostly done by two other interns).

For each workshop, we developed a suitable project (e.g., coding a Tic-tac-toe game in

Python for the Python workshop, coding a game of pong with scratch for the scratch

workshop, etc.) and then wrote 15-30 page-long workshop guides, detailing all the

information, tasks, and hints the students would need to successfully complete the

workshop (similar to a lab script). We also organised and carried out a 1.5 week-long testing

phase with about 10 volunteers (mostly siblings from Epitech students), and then refined all

the workshops according to the feedback we received.

After the summer camp, we were also tasked with developing more workshop modules for

future Digital Ninjas programs. Adam and I also participated in the EPITECH for Impact

program in the third week of our internship (18.07-25.07) for which we spent one week in

Djougou, a city in northern Benin, teaching locals basic digital skills. My main responsibility

was the supervision of students in the organisation of the project and their teaching

modules, but I also participated proactively in the teaching activities by holding an hour-long

presentation on web design and running small group sessions in the computer room, first

teaching basic computer usage and a few days later guiding them in creating a website with

Wix (a website builder). In general, Adam and I were very free in our work, we could decide

and change the entire concept of the workshops and were also involved in the organisation

of the two-week summer camp. We could decide our own working hours and deadlines and

were not heavily supervised. In general, I

felt well supported and always knew who I

could ask something if anything was

unclear.

Daily Life

Workdays usually started at 09:00 (though

we did not have a fixed start or end time)

and ended between 17:00 and 20:00

(particularly in the week before the summer camp we had to stay quite late sometimes to

finish all the work in time). After work on a regular day we usually just went back to the flat

and cooked or ordered in, and either worked on our own projects (revision for the next academic year / side projects at home) or enjoyed our evenings with our flatmates who

were all students at Epitech. On the weekends we usually tried exploring the city and

surroundings (beach, market, churches, parties, barbecues, etc.).

Often (particularly at the start), the Epitech staff organised group expeditions with us to

show us more of Cotonou and Benin. The main mode of transport in Cotonou are the so-

called Zems, motorbike taxis, for which we were thankfully given motorbike helmets by the

Epitech staff on the evening of our arrival. After a day or two of settling in, we were using

the Zems to go to work every day just like locals (except that unlike most people, we were

wearing helmets).

The staff of Epitech are a close-knit group who enjoy spending a lot of time together outside

of work. We were warmly welcomed and instantly made to feel part of the team. We were

invited to barbecues at their homes, and sometimes they organised big group expeditions

on the weekends so that we could see more of the country. It was also not uncommon for

the entire staff to go out for a big lunch, showing us new and exciting places to eat typical

meals. Apart from this, we also socialised a lot with Epitech students who we got to know

either through our flatmates or through the Epitech for Impact program.

Lasting Impressions

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and

wish to thank the EPITECH staff for

welcoming us so warmly and instantly into

their team. It was a pleasure to work with

them and also to spend time outside of

work for the excursions and activities that

they had generously planned for us to visit

and experience the country. The students of EPITECH were similarly welcoming and I was

personally amazed by some of the things I have seen them create using code. While I

encountered some major difficulties during the internship (covid), I feel very positive about

the experience and can highly recommend it to future students.

Generally, I have found Benin to be an incredibly welcoming country and people were

always ready and happy to help us. As a physicist, I used to think of coding more like a tool,

used to visualise Data or gain insights into physical processes, but after seeing the coding

projects of students during this internship and coding more myself, I have gained a new

appreciation of coding as an almost limitless creative discipline. This has given me the

confidence that coding in a future career can be an enjoyable occupation, rather than just a

tool to be used when necessary.

Furthermore, I mostly appreciated the cultural experience of this internship. Benin is a

country with relatively few tourists and not much touristic infrastructure, such that all the

experiences felt truly authentic. It was wonderful being able to work there and get to know

a great community of ambitious young people at Epitech. Through the short trips to the

other cities, I also learned a lot about its history and have gained a refined perspective of

(neo-)colonialism, particularly as a French citizen. We also learned a lot about slavery in

Ouidah, which was a central hub of the transatlantic slave trade. I am very happy to have

had this wonderful opportunity and highly recommend it to future students.

What practical advice would you give to future interns?

1. Be aware that things in Benin are often organised last-minute (and don’t let it stress you out).

2. Have a lot of patience, some processes in

Benin just take longer and are less well

organised than you might be used to. Persistence can get you a long way (in bureaucratic

processes for example), just keep trying.

3. Learn at least a little bit of French, a lot of people don’t speak English and being able to

communicate with people will greatly improve your experience.

4. Bring a mosquito net (I would recommend one that you can hang from the ceiling). Always ask your friends / staff at Epitech first how much specific things should cost, to avoid

being taken advantage of as a foreigner.

5. Try out all the amazing food (Attieke, Foutou banana, igname pile, garri, piron, etc.).

6. Learn the phrase sans piment si-vous-plait without spice please, unless you enjoy very

spicy meals. Try out the local street-food (women selling evening meals on the road for

~500CFA = 60p).

7.Don’t drink tap water. You can get big water canisters from small shops or the

supermarket.

8. Bring long but airy clothes to prevent mosquito bites particularly in the evenings. Bring a

good rain jacket (tropical weather means heavy rainfalls).

9. Ask for security tips before you do things, there is usually no problem at all and you can

mostly wander through the streets by yourself (even at night), but be sure to know areas to

avoid.

Adam Slater, St John’s College, Second Year Undergraduate, MEng Engineering Science, In-person internship

Work Projects

EPITECH is a university specialising in computer

science technical training, including one campus in

Cotonou, Benin. For my internship I worked

closely with Uri Sharell (another Oxford intern), as

well as EPITECH staff and students, to plan,

develop, and deliver the two-week Digital Ninjas

Summer Camp for local children. The Summer

Camp consisted of workshops centred around digital skills for two age groups (8-13 and 14-

18 years old). Uri and I created wrote detailed guides for the workshops that taught: Python;

Scratch (drag-and-drop coding); 3D Modelling and AR; HTML, CSS and Javascript; and

making websites with Wix. I feel the most personal pride for the Scratch and 3D Modelling

and AR workshops because I proposed the tools to use and created the initial concepts of

how they would be taught. We ran a test phase to see how easy the guides were to follow

and took feedback from the project manager so we could improve the guides and content of

the workshops, before running the Summer Camp.

For the duration of the camp, I was on hand, proactively helping students whenever they

had an issue or wanted to do something beyond the guide. Overall, the camp was a huge

success. The students took to the activities enthusiastically, learnt a lot and enjoyed the

experience. It was immensely gratifying seeing the workshops we had planned come to

fruition. I also spent a week in Djougou (northern Benin) for the EPITECH x Impact - byo

taago Challenge.

We supported the EPITECH students as they taught some basic computer and internet

literacy skills to local young people. I contributed to discussions finalising the teaching plans

and helped with logistics where I could. Towards the end of the week, I worked to set up

and troubleshoot the computer room of the training centre. We then ran sessions on how

to use Microsoft Word and build a simple website in Wix.

Daily Life

EPITECH had organised our accommodation

for us which was great because we were in a

flat with EPITECH students. They were

immediately welcoming and friendly,

recommending restaurants and giving us tips

for living in Cotonou. Getting to work

involved hailing a motorbike-taxi or zem,

negotiating a price of around 40p and riding the fifteen minutes across the not-always-

smooth roads.

The working hours at EPITECH are completely flexible with the guidance being to work until

you have finished your task. For me, I tended to arrive at 9am and stay until somewhere

between 5:30pm and 8pm. There were three common places that I went for lunch: a food

truck (very close so very popular for EPITECH staff and students) serving good sandwiches

and meat dishes, a street food stall serving a local rice meal, and Ci Gusta for pizzas and ice

cream as an occasional treat.

Outside of work, our hosts were keen for us to make the most of Benin and gave us

countless fantastic experiences. Some highlights were being invited to El Dorado, an idyllic

beach resort; Babs Dock, a restaurant on a lake where I sailed for the first time; the

Dantokpa Market, the largest market in West Africa, to buy fabric for tailored local clothes;

as well as parties hosted by the director of EPITECH Benin.

Lasting Impressions

I was hugely fortunate to be able to travel for my internship. The experiences I had in Benin

will stay with me for a lifetime. I gained a huge amount of confidence and a greater

appreciation of the cultures in West Africa. It has encouraged me to explore more

international opportunities. The work project was immensely rewarding. Being able to

develop and run the Summer Camp from beginning to end, while being able to bring my

own ideas to the table, was very enjoyable. It taught me the value that technology can bring

to individuals and developing nations and has inspired me to pursue a career that will put

people first and empower communities through technology.

What practical advice would you give to future interns?

At EPITECH, most of the staff and students speak

English so knowing French isn't essential.

However, the more French you know, the better

you will be able to experience the city and

culture. Most importantly, grab every

opportunity! Things can be arranged last minute so always keep your ears open to

interesting activities. In fact one of the best trips, I had was when someone mentioned a

beach-side library; everyone is really friendly so get to know them and see what you can get

involved in or observe. There's so much to see in Benin in such a short amount of time and

with such a rich culture and heritage, so different to the UK, it’s a shame I couldn’t have

been there longer!