Barbara Bogomolova, Year 12 student at Xaverian College, recently launched Mini Silicon Valley, a student-led enrichment activity, created as a space where passion for technological innovation meets the scientific curiosity and desire of people to make a change.
The group involved in the project are on a mission to unlock AI’s potential in education, making learning smarter, more accessible, and more personalised – especially for students in developing countries.
Their research investigates how AI can transform studying, from personalised tutoring to adaptive learning tools that address diverse needs. But they’re not just looking at the benefits, they’re also exploring the challenges, ensuring that AI complements traditional education and does not act as a replacement.
By analysing AI’s impact worldwide, they aim to identify practical, engaging, and inclusive solutions that enhance learning efficiency. Ultimately, they strive to provide insights that help students and educators integrate AI responsibly, shaping a future where technology empowers, not overshadows, the human experience of learning.
Barbara is currently studying A Levels in Economics, Politics and Psychology, alongside her Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) at Xaverian. She is also part of the College’s Oxbridge Programme and aspires to study Philosophy, Politics & Economics at the University of Oxford or a Degree in Science, Technology and Society at Stanford University in the USA. She set up the Mini Silicon Valley project as a result of being a Youth Council Representative and being invited to attend an AI workshop organised by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). The representatives were tasked with researching student perceptions on AI and the potential uses of AI to support learning, before developing a website and a prototype app based on the research recommendations.
Barbara, whose role was to construct the website, as well being involved in the activities of the group and co-ordinating the different tasks within the project, commented: “We completed the FCDO brief after four weeks and I presented our findings to the House of Lords in person and in an online meeting with the FCDO, who were impressed with our project and said our inputs were insightful and helped shape the session. They also thought the research we had done contributed greatly to the session.
“I really feel inspired and grateful to the Mini Silicon Valley team for volunteering and spending time working on the project as we all worked really well together as a team. We feel we have created something special and unique and, in the future, we hope to continue working on the project and develop the app further. We are also planning to invite investors/other AI app developers to an event where we can all pitch our ideas and hopefully learn from each other’s experiences.”
Other students involved include Ferdinand Anyaeriuba, who worked on the UI-UX prototype development, Wini Lakshmi Narasiman who led on research and content creation, Patrick Mannion, who developed the technological strategy, Jan Dworak, who focused on ensuring the AI technology is accessible to everyone, Zainab Alam, who developed the political strategy, Aleezah Afzal, who distributed and analysed the survey, and Sam Churchill, who produced an overview of AI as a newly-emerging technology.
Aleezah commented: “We initially planned to work on the project for four weeks, but we’d worked so well together that we wanted to carry it on. I’ve never been involved in any project related to AI before, so it’s definitely expanded my knowledge of the area. AI is something that people use every day, but you don’t actually stop and think where this is all coming from, and how it can be developed into something that can be used in everyday life. We see it as a tool that can be used by students and teachers to complete a learning task quickly and effectively whilst in school or at home.”
Zainab looked at the political landscape and how it impacts on the project and commented: “I wanted to see how strong AI is in solving political issues. As this is such an important element, our initial approach was not to make the app accessible to students in developed countries but to help disadvantaged children around the world who really want to study. My Grandad always said: “knowledge is half the battle won”, so I would want to give the opportunities that I have had to younger kids in developing countries who have limited or no access to education.”
Prashant Duggal, Business Teacher and Xaverian Xtras Co-Lead, commented: “I am constantly in awe of our students’ passion! Barbara recruited an excellent team, all of whom were incredibly well-organised and worked so effectively and independently to produce something super-impressive. It looks like we could learn a thing or two from them!”
Ferdinand’s role was to design the app’s wireframes, colour schemes and interactive features, and to determine how users will interact with it. He commented: “Once Barbara had presented our findings to the FCDO, we then considered what our next steps would be and realised we could continue developing the app into a useable platform for students to use around the world.
“It was a great journey being involved in the project and it’s evolved into something different that I’ve not been involved in before, and we are proud that we ran the project entirely by ourselves. It has evolved beyond what was asked of us and our own expectations and we are excited to see where it goes in the future and what it develops into!” One of the things that sets Xaverian apart is our commitment to enriching students’ futures outside of the classroom, which is why we recently introduced our brand-new enrichment programme, Xaverian Xtras, to encourage students to take part in activities such as this.