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Contribute

Help us expand the dataset catalogue by contributing new datasets

Contributing to Capstone Datasets

We welcome contributions from the community! There are several ways you can help expand and improve this dataset catalogue.

Ways to Contribute

1. Propose a New Dataset

Have a dataset that would be useful for AI Research Foundations capstone projects? We’d love to add it!

Requirements for new datasets:

  • Must have a clear license allowing educational use
  • Must be relevant to African contexts, languages, or challenges
  • Must have a stable source (Hugging Face, Zenodo, institutional repository, etc.)
  • Must include sufficient documentation

To propose a dataset:

  1. Open an issue on our GitHub repository
  2. Include the dataset name, URL, and why it’s relevant
  3. We’ll review and add it to the catalogue

2. Improve Existing Dataset Cards

Help us improve the documentation for datasets already in the catalogue:

  • Add project ideas for capstone students
  • Document ethical considerations
  • Fix broken links or outdated information
  • Add code snippets for common use cases

3. Create Quick-Start Notebooks

Create Colab notebooks that demonstrate how to use datasets:

  • Load and explore the data
  • Perform basic preprocessing
  • Train a simple model
  • Evaluate results

4. Translate Documentation

Help make this resource accessible to more students:

  • French translations for francophone Africa
  • Portuguese translations for lusophone Africa
  • Local language translations

5. Report Issues

Found a problem? Let us know:

  • Broken links
  • Incorrect information
  • Accessibility issues
  • Suggestions for improvement

Open an issue on GitHub

Dataset Quality Criteria

Before adding a dataset, we verify:

  • Clear License: The dataset has an explicit license allowing educational use
  • Verified Access: The download/access link works
  • Complete Metadata: Languages, countries, tasks, and size are documented
  • Working Code: The quick-start code snippet runs successfully
  • Ethical Review: Potential biases and limitations are documented
  • Course Mapping: The dataset is mapped to at least one course

Code of Conduct

All contributors are expected to follow our code of conduct:

  • Be respectful and inclusive
  • Provide constructive feedback
  • Attribute work properly
  • Respect dataset licenses and creators

Getting Started

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a branch for your changes
  3. Make your contributions
  4. Submit a pull request

For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you’d like to change.

Questions?

If you have questions about contributing:

Thank you for helping make AI education more accessible across Africa!