ActiveWith Thomas Dunn Learning Center, in St. Louis, Missouri

Circular Tech Bootcamp

Hands-on hardware training in Lagos and St. Louis, Missouri, on the same laptops that go back out to the community afterwards.

Apply for the bootcamp

Three people examining an opened laptop, one holding the chassis up by its exposed board while the others study it, with a slide about motherboards on the screen behind them.

Every device that arrives at JustUsedTech needs assessment before it can be redistributed. The bootcamp turns that necessary work into a curriculum, so the people learning hardware repair are learning on real laptops that are going to real people afterwards, not on spare hardware kept for practice.

The same programme runs in two places. In Lagos it is a jobs-focused course, taking participants through computer hardware from the component level up: identification, assembly and disassembly, troubleshooting, RAM, SSD and battery replacement, maintenance and optimisation, refurbishment, quality testing, and networking basics. Alongside that runs the circular economy and e-waste half, covering environmental impact, reuse and repair principles, safe disposal of damaged components, and community awareness.

In St. Louis, Missouri, it runs with Thomas Dunn Learning Center as a summer programme for participants aged 15 and up, and carries a second track alongside the hardware one: the ethical use of artificial intelligence, covering where these tools fail, bias, privacy, accountability, and digital citizenship. Both cohorts use Google Classroom for materials, assignments, and progress, and both close on a capstone exhibition where teams present what they refurbished or built.

Where it runs

The same programme runs in two places. Here is what each one does, and what they have in common.

Lagos

A workforce development cohort, built around hardware assembly, troubleshooting, and refurbishment, with circular economy and e-waste education running alongside and participants supporting real collection drives.

St. Louis, Missouri

Run with Thomas Dunn Learning Center, a community learning hub with over 9,000 annual visits and 900+ classes delivered. Open to participants aged 15 and up, across two tracks: ethical AI use, and computer hardware coupling and refurbishment.

What both share

Both are blended: instructor-led sessions and hands-on lab work in the room, Google Classroom for materials and assessment, e-waste collection supplying the laptops the training runs on, and a capstone exhibition to finish.

What the programme is for

What the programme sets out to achieve.

Hardware skills

Train participants on computer hardware assembly, troubleshooting, and refurbishment through physical practical sessions and lab work.

Circular economy literacy

Build practical understanding of circular economy principles, e-waste reduction, and the environmental impact of electronic waste.

Ethical AI use

In the St. Louis cohort, a full track on what AI tools are good for, where they fail, and the bias, privacy, and accountability questions around them, alongside digital citizenship and online safety.

Responsible technology use

Promote digital citizenship and sustainability practice alongside the technical curriculum.

Feed the device pipeline

Collect and refurbish used devices for reuse, redistribution, and future community learning initiatives.

Targets

Figures the programme is working towards. These are planned, not delivered.

Youth enrolled and trained on hardware and circular economy skills

85%

Training completion rate

70%

Knowledge improvement, pre and post assessment

Devices refurbished and presented at the capstone exhibition

How it runs

The activities that make up the programme.

Hardware training

Component identification, laptop and desktop assembly and disassembly, troubleshooting, RAM, SSD, and battery replacement, maintenance, and networking basics.

Practical lab work

Participants work directly on donated laptops, desktop systems, peripherals, and reusable components.

Circular economy and e-waste education

Environmental impact, reuse and repair principles, safe disposal of damaged components, and community awareness work.

E-waste collection drives

Participants support collection, sorting exercises, and reusable device recovery in their own communities.

Ethical AI track

In St. Louis, Missouri, a parallel track on artificial intelligence in everyday life, bias, privacy, accountability, responsible use of AI tools, and online safety, taught through case studies.

Capstone innovation challenge

Teams refurbish devices, design sustainability solutions, or build awareness campaigns, presented at a final exhibition and graduation event.

Timeline

How the programme is planned to run, month by month.

Week 1 to 6

Setup

Curriculum development, trainer and volunteer recruitment, participant recruitment, device collection, and lab setup.

Month 2

Training delivery

Instructor-led workshops, hands-on lab work, peer learning groups, and practical assessments.

Month 3

Projects and exhibition

Practical projects, mentorship, and the final capstone exhibition.

Month 4

Reporting and evaluation

Programme reporting and evaluation against the training targets.

From the field

Training sessions in Lagos, where participants take laptops apart to learn what is inside them, and the St. Louis sessions run with Thomas Dunn, where they take a repaired laptop home at the end.