New blog post: Bridging Learning Gaps Through Open-Source Tools by David Kiragu Mwaura

content/posts/2026-02-02-David-Mwaura-AIBBC2025.md

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+---
+author: "David-Kiragu-Mwaura"
+date: 2026-02-02
+draft: true
+category:
+ - community
+ - event-fellowship
+ - travel-fellowship
+tag:
+ - community
+ - event-fellowship
+ - travel-fellowship
+
+title: "Bridging Learning Gaps Through Open-Source Tools"
+url: /2026/02/02/2026-02-02-David-Mwaura-AIBBC2025/
+---
+
+**_The_** [**_Open Bioinformatics Foundation (OBF) Event Fellowship program_**](/travel-awards) **_aims to promote diverse participation at events promoting open-source bioinformatics software development and open science practices in the biological research community. David Kiragu Mwaura,_** _**an Assistant Research Scientist at the**_ _**Kenya Institute of Primate Research**_, **_was awarded an OBF Event Fellowship to attend_** **_[2025 AIBBC conference](https://www.aibbc-society.org/))_**.
+
+![David Kiragu standing beside his mounted poster](/img/2026-02-02-image-kiragu.jpg.png)
+
+ ## Introduction
+My desire to share my masters’ research output into a real world demonstration had finally come to its fruition. This was achieved by securing a competitive travel grant from the **Open Bioinformatics Foundation Event Fellowship**. Leaving the chilly landscapes of Glasgow, Scotland for the warm, tropical weather in my home country, Kenya, I was honored to attend the [2025 African International Biotechnology and Biomedical Conference](https://www.aibbc-society.org/), where scientists from around the world gather to exchange ideas that directly address Africa’s needs.
+
+## Poster Presentation
+My simple and urgent plan was to showcase that open-source educational tools are practical, fair, high-impact solutions and not just an alternative means to the huge learning gap created by expensive proprietary software, especially in resource-constrained environments like Africa. My core contribution was to demonstrate how freely available platforms, particularly R Shiny, can revolutionize learning. My poster, **"BRIDGING TECHNOLOGY AND GENETIC EDUCATION: AN OPEN SOURCE SHINY APPLICATION FOR TEACHING PATERNITY ANALYSIS"**, served as the definitive proof of concept.
+
+Standing proudly beside my poster, I highlighted the complexity of teaching kinship inference and presented our solution, [DadApp](https://github.com/KIRAGU-MWAURA/DadApp_Shiny_Web_App), the open source R shiny tool. I shared the successful results from the Kenya Institute of Primate Research (KIPRE) pilot study that described the increase of interest and confidence upon using DadApp as an active learning tool. The results were uniquely compelling to the audience which sparked the discussion among lecturers and researchers from many institutions across Africa, who recognized the immense value of such open source tools. They saw an accessible, validated tool that could be replicated and scaled here in Africa where technology is gradually accessible.
+
+![Audience for the poster](/img/2026-02-02-image-kiragu01.jpg.png)
+
+However, what stood out was how diverse my audience was: Some asked what Open Source is and why it matters in the Biotechnology and Biomedical fields? Whereas some audience members were advanced to ask what license is the Shiny App released under and if it allows commercial use, modification and/or redistribution? The diverse audience validated the continuous need for sensitizing about the importance of Open Source tools and Open Science in general. One of the biggest highlights which was satisfying was to experience a Professor from one of the leading universities in Kenya appreciating the content of the poster and commenting that such Open Source tools are the future as they can help in enhancing flexibility in curriculum design. He further added that lecturers and those passionate in capacity development can tailor such tools to course goals especially in lessons that are mathematically and coding intensive.
+
+## Final Thoughts
+The AIBBC conference was a humbling experience because for the first time I got to see something that was once a thoughtful concept became a product that was exciting and appreciated by my peers to advanced scientists and lecturers from different scientific backgrounds. However, my greatest achievement was showing that advanced learning does not have to rely on expensive softwares but can also be achieved with an open source Shiny App like DadApp. Students/participants can utilize such open source tools to explore data, visualize results, and understand scientific principles that once felt out of reach. The sparked conversations, encouragement and  collaborative opportunities ignited a strong desire amongst the audience to champion genuine scientific equity, and a recognition that every scientist has a role in bringing that future of Open Science to life.
+
+Looking back, the bridge from Glasgow to Kenya became one of ideas, innovation, and global learning. I hope the experience leaves a lasting impact on both myself and the audience long after the conference.
+
+                             ‘When knowledge travels freely, learning knows no borders.’
+
+---