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The UNESCO ROSA is seeking an individual consultant to develop and implement an educational chatbot on WhatsApp that delivers educational content and leverages the platforms interactive messaging interface.

The Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future (O3) Program aims to support adolescents and young people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in achieving positive health, education, and gender equality outcomes. This program strives to contribute to a sustained reduction in new HIV infections, early and unintended pregnancies, gender-based violence, and child marriage. Learners’ physical, psychological, and emotional development is also impacted by gender-based violence (GBV), particularly in schools. 

The O3 Program in Zambia will implement OLA-Zed (OLA - Online Learning App); a WhatsApp automated chatbot designed to distribute academic resources to Zambian learners, teachers and parents who have limited to the internet but have access to the next best thing, WhatsApp. This app addresses internet access: providing education on a popular platform most Zambians have access to. The chatbot will distribute curriculum-aligned academic resources like; study notes, past exam papers, marking schemes, teaching guides etc for all learning levels and learning areas (initial versions will focus on Life Skills and Health Education then will expand to include other learning areas over time). The chatbot will be a key resource supporting the roll out of the new curriculum in Zambia.

In line with the above background UNESCO ROSA is seeking an individual consultant to develop and implement an educational chatbot on WhatsApp that delivers educational content and leverages the platforms interactive messaging interface.

How will the OLA-Zed chatbot work?

A chatbot user will follow the steps below:

• Contact Saving: The user saves the chatbot's phone number in their contacts list.

• Initiation: The user starts the conversation by sending "hi" to the chatbot number.

• Navigation: The chatbot responds with a menu or options. The user selects choices by sending numbers or keywords to navigate through: - Learning level (e.g., primary, secondary); Subject (e.g., math, science); Topic (e.g., algebra, biology); Resource type (e.g., notes, practice questions)

• Resource Delivery: Once the user has made all selections, the chatbot sends the requested learning material as a downloadable (e.g., PDF, image, video).

• Conclusion: After the user downloads the material, the chat session ends. The user can start a new session anytime by sending "hi" again.

Features of the OLA-Zed chatbot

The chatbot architecture will provide a simple, structured way for students to access educational resources through WhatsApp. AI will also be integrated into the chatbot so it can function as a dynamic, personalized learning companion. This advancement allows for real-time engagement, tailored content delivery, and intelligent responses to complex queries, aligning with modern educational theories that emphasize active learning and immediate feedback. AI-driven features such contextual recommendations, and natural language processing enhance the learning experience, potentially improving user retention and learning outcomes. By leveraging these capabilities, the bot evolves into a sophisticated learning platform that can revolutionize access to education, making it more engaging, effective, and accessible to diverse learners. 

User Interface and User Experience 

The chatbot will offer a streamlined, user-friendly experience with simple menus for easy navigation, catering to students, teachers, and parents. The of commands from starting the chat to its end will be shortened for efficiency, and emojis (and other elements) will be used throughout to make the bot more engaging, especially for younger users.

Scope of Work

The consultant will complete the following activities:

1. Design: 

User-friendly interface compatible with WhatsApp.

Integration of provided educational content/resources.

2. Development:

Programming the chatbot's logic based on the concept.

Ensuring functionality for content delivery, user queries, and feedback mechanisms.

Implementing security measures for user data protection (opt-in, registration and opt-out).

3. Testing:

Conducting functional and usability tests.

Ensuring reliability and performance under various user loads.

4. Deployment:

Launching the chatbot on WhatsApp.

Providing initial setup instructions or guides if necessary.

5. Support & Maintenance:

Develop easy to use analytics portal

Offering post-launch support for bug fixes and performance issues.

Regular updates to keep content and functionalities current.

• Fully functional WhatsApp chatbot.

• Fully functional analytics portal.

• Maintenance plan and schedule.

It is estimated that the consultancy takes about one and a half months (6 weeks) to completion starting on 10 February 2025. This duration may be reviewed based on initial proposals and inputs from the selected consultant.

Educational Background:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Educational Technology, or a related field.

Certifications in chatbot development technologies (e.g., Dialogflow, Microsoft Bot Framework) will be an added advantage

• Minimum 4 years in software development, with at least 2 years specifically in chatbot or conversational AI development.
• Proficient in programming languages like Python, JavaScript, or Java, commonly used in chatbot frameworks.
• Hands-on experience with APIs, especially WhatsApp Business API.
• Proven track record of developing at least 2 educational or learning management system projects, where chatbots or conversational interfaces were implemented.
• Experience in integrating and managing content from various sources into a chatbot environment.

Interested individuals may submit CV and technical & financial proposals via email to vacancies.harare@unesco.org no later than 31 January 2025. 

Use the subject line “Development of Zambia WhatsApp Chatbot”