DOHA
- Dr. Khadija El-Badawihi, founder and CEO of PraxiLabs, has been able to compete strongly for the Top 10 “Africa's Business Heroes” ABH award as a promising Egyptian businesswoman.
She was nominated for her efforts to make science education affordable and accessible to schools and other institutions, and to the virtual ease of use of science laboratories.
The Africa Entrepreneurs (ABH) initiative was established by Chinese businessman Jack Ma, founder of the e-commerce group Alibaba, and the award aims to support and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs to build an inclusive and more sustainable future economy.
Beginning in 2019, the initiative began with the selection of 10 contestants, who share a pool of prizes worth $1.5 million.
After being selected among the 20 who compete for the top 10 for the Africa Entrepreneurs Award, Al Jazeera Net conducted a WhatsApp interview with Dr. Khadija Al-Badawihi, a doctorate in human-computer interaction from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, to inquire about the nature of Praxilabs, and the importance of virtual laboratories. And what to offer to the public, especially during the closure period after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Khadija Al-Badawihi was selected to compete for the Top 10 Entrepreneurs Award in Africa (communication sites)
How did Dr. Khadija develop into an Egyptian entrepreneur in the fields of science and technology?
Dr. Khadija says that the positive impact that her father and mother left on her since she was young is what made her, as they implanted in her the love of diligence and the necessity of self-reliance in a simple way that she loved, as it includes singing poems such as “The demands are not attained by wishful thinking, but the world is taken for granted”, and songs urging On success, such as "the successful person raises his hand", are simple things, but they are enough to raise morale and continue to succeed.
Al-Badawihi adds that she holds a Bachelor’s degree from Cairo University in Computer Science, and says, “I was the first in my class for 4 years, thanks to the encouragement of my professors at the university who trusted my abilities. After that, I succeeded in obtaining a PhD from Sheffield University and became the youngest lecturer in college after that.
Where did the idea for Praxilabs come from?
Dr. Khadija says, "After obtaining my doctorate, and returning to Egypt to teach and explain to university students - which is my favorite hobby - I found that I wanted to expand the transfer of information to the largest possible number of young people, and not only to the limited number of students - whom I teach - who will not exceed 500 students every year.
With the availability of financial capabilities - my father owns an education and technology company, and he also has well-known experience in the Arab world in this field - we began to develop the idea of how to transfer information to the largest possible number of students, and it was Praxilabs.
Praxilabs offers 3D virtual laboratories that simulate the real experience to be studied (Al Jazeera)
What are Praxilabs?
Praxilabs are essentially 3D virtual laboratories in the fields of chemistry, physics and biology.
It provides a better understanding of the material that students learn during interaction to the point of immersion, with multiple interactive options and responsive feedback, giving students experience and virtual hands-on training in science curriculum.
Praxilabs' virtual laboratories in biology, for example, provide more than a virtual microscope. They enable the student to enrich knowledge, and facilitate understanding in several topics ranging from DNA extraction and genetic cloning to tissue culture and protein electrophoresis analysis.
Praxilabs also provides educational institutions and students with a wide range of virtual chemistry experiments, which are constantly updated and cover the areas of general, analytical and organic chemistry.
As for the virtual labs in the field of physics, it contains 3D simulations of dozens of experiments related to electrophysics, magnetism, thermal physics, electronics, modern physics, nuclear experiments, mechanics, waves and many more.
Praxilabs also provides 3D models of expensive devices that are difficult to actually purchase.
Praxilabs laboratories are also available in Arabic and English.
It is compatible with well-known and modern educational platforms and can be accessed virtually anywhere.
The virtual laboratory service was initially directed to university students (Al-Jazeera)
What problems did traditional labs solve for virtual labs like Praxilabs?
Dr. Khadija says: Throughout my studies, I have noticed the educational problems of STEM students, as they are in urgent and constant need to do practical experiments, because this is important for understanding and academic development.
Despite this, entering laboratories and conducting experiments is not available in reality or faces many obstacles, whether in Arab or foreign countries alike.
Science laboratories require great financial capabilities in order to renovate and save materials and machines.
If the laboratories are available, the student will not be able to use them repeatedly during the week, and he can rarely repeat a single experiment until he gets used to the correct steps and masters the concepts he is studying.
The issue of safety in operands is also taken into account when talking about default operands;
Some experiments are very dangerous, and it is not right for students to do them without supervision. In biology, for example, there are some carcinogenic or radioactive substances or that result in a high temperature that reaches boiling.
This represents another burden on laboratories or universities, which must provide close supervision or supervision over students.
Some universities permanently delete some experiments from the laboratories due to their danger to students.
Virtual labs provide solutions to real lab problems (Al Jazeera)
What do virtual laboratories offer to students?
The importance of virtual laboratories comes from the fact that they provide solutions to the problems of real laboratories.
It provides the student with a three-dimensional method that simulates the real experience to be studied, with all equipment and materials available in a three-dimensional form, in addition to the fact that the student can repeat the experiments as much as he wants until he masters them completely.
He can also walk inside the virtual lab and see all the devices and get to know how they work.
This improves his performance and raises his academic level.
Some studies have confirmed that virtual labs contribute up to 60% to improving student performance.
Who is a Praxilabs fan?
Initially, the Praxilabs project was directed at university students.
Although the market for school students may be the largest, students of scientific universities are in greater need of virtual laboratories.
This did not prevent Praxilabs from expanding in the recent period by targeting school students from the third year of middle school (intermediate) to the third secondary school.
Currently, Praxilabs is benefiting students of scientific colleges such as engineering, medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, etc., as well as school students.
This is done through collective subscriptions from universities and schools, or through individual subscriptions from parents and students themselves.
During the spread of the Corona virus, the need for virtual laboratories has increased (Al Jazeera)
This is done by specifying the university, school or student for the subjects they want to study and the experiences to focus on, during a specific period of 3 months or a year, and then the financial compensation is determined, which is reasonable for everyone.
During the spread of the Corona virus, the need for virtual laboratories increased, due to the general closure at the level of schools and universities, and of course the real laboratories.
Hence, the cognitive difference occurred regarding the existence and value of default labs and their impact on the level of students' education.
Can the student be followed up, assisted and evaluated while in the virtual lab?
Once the student enters the virtual lab, he finds many plans, and chooses from them what suits him.
Then he finds the experiment he wants to practice, and he will notice the presence of some auxiliary factors such as the steps to do the experiment in detail.
There is also someone who directs him to the next step in case it is difficult for him to continue, and if he takes a wrong step, he is also directed in an easy way.
The site also allows providing and writing comprehensive reports on the performance of students on Praxilabs, their competence and understanding of the experiments, the frequency of a single experiment, whether they used the aids available on the site or not, and whether they are ready to enter the real lab to do the experiment in real life.
This type of report is required by some universities to evaluate their students.
Praxilabs is the number one virtual lab in the Arab region and Africa (communication sites)
Is Praxilabs competing regionally or globally?
Praxilabs is the number one virtual laboratory in the Arab region and Africa in terms of quality, accuracy and capabilities, and we compete globally in this field.
On the global market level, Praxilabs works with colleges and universities in 11 countries worldwide, including Texas A & M University in the United States, as well as King's College London, one of the largest British universities. .
In addition to single entry from 160 different countries around the world.
At the level of Arab countries, the UAE contracted Praxilabs to work in all schools, as well as the University of Jeddah, King Faisal University, Ain Shams University, and Cairo University.
Dr. Khadija adds, "We work with about 250 to 300 thousand students. In addition to the 56 thousand students who use the free version of the site, which has 6 experiments that anyone can try on their own."
Praxilabs aims to increase experiences by 100 experiences per year (communication sites)
What do you hope to participate in the Africa Entrepreneurs Competition and do you expect to win?
Given our belief in embracing technology to improve science education and enable equal opportunities, with the amazing Praxilabs team that shares the same vision with me, I expect and hope to win in the top three, just like before in 2019, when the Egyptian Dr. Omar Saqr, founder and CEO of Nawat Scientific Foundation was chosen (Nawah-Scientific) in second place in 2019, receiving a prize of $150,000.
What are your plans for the future?
Currently, the site contains 125 experiments, and we aim to increase 100 experiments annually.
Our future plans also include reaching more places, and adapting the site to become an easy-to-use mobile application.
As well as covering more scientific materials, and developing them to be suitable for younger ages from 9 to 12 years.