Program started by NJIT Professor Spreading Entrepreneurial Spirit Around the World

Three times a year, NJIT’s Osama Eljabiri makes the trip to Medellin, Colombia, as part of his Real World Connections (RWC) program.

RWC mirrors a program he started more than a decade ago in New Jersey for middle school and high school students, designed to help them innovate, create and gain real-world experience in computing skills. Eljabiri even received an award from the New Jersey Governor for the program in 2017.

Eljabiri, a senior lecturer at NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing, was inspired to take the RWC program outside the U.S. because he believes education is a great equalizer and can propel youth to bring about change and improve society. 

“RWC provides a special approach to teaching and learning, placing students in the driver’s seat as they become the owners of their own education,” Eljabiri said. 

RWC students are local high-schoolers who participate in one of 10 different project tracks, including Android app development, game development, web development, introduction to coding, music and technology, cybersecurity, Cisco networking, robotics, space and mini architecture school. Participation is free.

Ideas for the projects come from RWC coaches and local industry, government and community leaders who propose topics for the projects. Eljabiri said that because of the entrepreneurial nature of RWC, students can also propose their own ideas to solve a real problem encountered in their community, while being mentored by their coaches. 

When seeking a location to expand RWC, Eljabiri looked to NJIT’s student population. Known for its diversity, NJIT has many students with backgrounds from around the world, including a large number whose families hail from Latin America. 

He found his partner in Medellin, Colombia, a city once known as the most dangerous in the world and the home of infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. In recent years, Medellin has worked hard to recast the city as a place of innovation. In 2013, the Urban Land Institute named Medellin the most innovative city in the world due to advances in education and social development. Medellin also won the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize in 2016, which seeks to recognize and celebrate efforts to further innovation in sustainable urban development.

That backdrop made the city the ideal spot to expand RWC. 

“RWC has helped many students get into some of the best schools in the country, paving the way to permanent, meaningful employment in high-tech fields for individuals from underserved communities,” Eljabiri said.

NJIT alum Tyler Hilsabeck has accompanied Eljabiri on two RWC trips to Columbia and served as one of the instructors in the cybersecurity track. He initially got involved in RWC through his capstone project at NJIT and stayed on to assist after graduation. Hilsabeck, who did not speak Spanish before going on his first trip but learned the basics of language while working with the students, describes his experience as incredibly rewarding and a great way to experience a different culture. 

 “Osama does a really good job of bringing kids in that wouldn’t normally have this type of opportunity,” Hilsabeck said. “The program gives the children an interest, an awareness of possibilities for them.”

The program also provides unique leadership opportunities to NJIT students, who become engaged with the local and international community. Camilio Marulanda is another NJIT alum who served as a program mentor. A computer science major, Marulanda used his skill and interest in video games to get students excited about game development.

“Through our game design course, students can design a variety of games, some big and quite complicated,” said Marulanda. Along with game development, students also learned the basics of programming.

Hilsabeck’s favorite part of the program is presentation day when students bring their parents and others to watch them explain their projects and the solutions they developed. Examples of projects are a robotics project that allows to simulate a system of shipments and delivery, and a smartphone app that helps tourists explore the town through a tourist roadmap.

Since launching in 2016, more than 400 students in Colombia have participated in the RWC program.