Support for Human Resource Development in Ethiopia: Castalia Conducts an Endowed Course on “Mobile-Based Digital Learning” Using GOOCUS Edge at Addis Ababa University

 To contribute to the advancement of digital education and human resource development in Ethiopia, Castalia delivered an endowed course titled “Fundamentals and Engineering of Mobile-Based Digital Learning”, based on its edge-computing digital learning system GOOCUS Edge.

Castalia Co., Ltd. (CEO: Satoshi Yamawaki; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter “Castalia”), with support from the Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS), conducted the endowed course at the Educational Research Center of Addis Ababa University (Location: Addis Ababa; Director: Dr. Berhanu Abera) in October and November 2025.

Earlier, in May 2025, Castalia and Addis Ababa University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) titled “Basic Agreement for the Promotion of Research and Educational Activities in Digital Learning.” This course was implemented as part of that ongoing collaboration.

MoU Signed with Addis Ababa University for Collaboration on Digital Learning in Ethiopia:


Course Content and Purpose

This course was conducted with the aim of making a practical and sustainable contribution to the challenges faced in educational settings in Ethiopia and other regions of Africa. At present, while the spread of mobile devices is progressing in Africa, structural issues in the educational infrastructure still remain, such as shortages of educational resources and teachers, as well as information gaps that lie between urban and rural areas.

Based on this background, the course delivered lectures under the theme “Basic Knowledge and Basic Engineering of Mobile-Based Digital Learning,” using Castalia’s knowledge accumulated to date, including online learning in fragile communication network environments and methods for locally deploying digital learning materials. The lectures introduced, with concrete examples, approaches to education using technology and methods for its implementation.

Course Overview

This course was conducted in a two-part structure, and it introduced, as concrete solutions to the serious issues of educational disparity in Africa—such as shortages of educational resources and teachers, and the lack of development in communication infrastructure—the mobile-specialized LMS “Goocus” developed by Castalia, as well as “Goocus Edge,” which can be used even in offline environments.

Among these, Goocus Edge is a learning server that allows access to learning materials via local Wi-Fi even in regions where internet connectivity is unstable or nonexistent, and because it is battery-powered, it can be operated stably even in environments where the power supply is unstable. For this reason, it is expected to serve as a means of supporting the continuous provision of education in developing countries and in areas affected by disasters or conflict.

In the lectures, while incorporating concrete use cases of Goocus Edge, a systematic explanation was given regarding design considerations that reflect local needs, as well as practical approaches for providing education without relying on communication infrastructure and the educational effects resulting from its implementation.

Overall Equipment Setup — Left: Edge server (notebook PC with SIM slot), Top: Access point, Right: Mobile battery

Lecture Series 1
“Digital Education and the Impact of Learning”
 Lecturer: Satoshi Yamawaki (CEO, Castalia Co., Ltd.)
 Dates: October 2 – October 8, 2025

Lecture Series 2
“Fundamentals and Engineering Basics of Mobile-Based Digital Learning (Technical Module)”
 Lecturer: Yoshiaki Shioiri (Castalia Co., Ltd.)
 Assistant: Wubetu Noah Eskindir (Castalia Co., Ltd.)
 Dates: November 3 – November 7 , 2025



Student Feedback

Students who participated in the course shared a wide range of comments and impressions. Selected feedback is introduced below:

"In northern Ethiopia where there has been conflict for about 6 years now, I can imagine a girl trapped in there with unstable power. If she uses the LMS she might need to charge her phone constantly, which is not convenient. Also she needs fast and reliable internet, which is not provided there due to the war. So the only option is to use the Goocus Edge. Someone in Tigray will create contents and upload on local server, the girl will then be able to access it. There is a battery for the local server, so low chance for it to run out of charge. She will then go near the local server, connect to the local WiFi. Just like that she will access her favorite courses on Goocus."

Bethelhem Solomon


"Imagine we go on an internship to a remote area to teach students. This place depends mainly on physical learning teaching process. They use papers to give out teaching resources, tests, etc. They also might influence the students to use internet to get additional resource and one learning platform would be Goocus LMS. This approach is good. But students would worry if their connection is good and leave to a place with better connection. And even after getting to a good internet spot then could worry about how much money they would spend on to check materials every time. But if they get access to Goocus Edge, once they get to a good internet spot, they could download the resources they would want once and reuse it anytime. This would increase their time to actually be studying and be productive, further leading to better grades."

Ruth Gashahun

■ About AOTS

The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS) is a public organization that promotes human resource development and technical exchange between Japan and emerging and developing countries. This endowed course was made possible through the support of AOTS and has gained attention as an example of international collaboration in the field of education.


■ About Addis Ababa University

Addis Ababa University (AAU), located in Ethiopia's capital, is the country’s largest and oldest national university. Among its many institutes, the Center for Educational Research and the Testing Center serve as core institutions for educational policy research and academic assessment. These centers play a key role in reforming Ethiopia’s education system and training future educators.

■About Castalia Co., Ltd.

Castalia Co., Ltd. operates with the mission of “solving social issues through education and IT.” The company develops and provides the Goocus mobile learning platform, along with original programming education materials. Its business spans not only across Japan but also in the Middle East and Africa, contributing to sustainable development by expanding access to education and fostering ICT human resources.