Frequently Asked Questions

The best way to get in touch with us is to drop us an email on: [email protected]

Alternatively we have a Whatsapp number for minor queries:  067 710 1116

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We have offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg (South Africa).   All of our courses are delivered entirely online, so you can learn with us to amplify your career from home, a library, a shared working centre, or the beach. 

Make your way to the appropriate course page via www.explore-datascience.net and click on any of the Enrol Now buttons on the page.  From there you will be guided through our quick and easy application process.

On the Our Courses page of the website there is a handy tool to assist you in finding the best content, location and duration of study to meet your needs. 

Alternatively, you can download a brochure about each course via the course page - the brochures are full of useful info to share with colleagues, family and friends, as well as to help you make the best decision!

ExploreAI Academy offers a selection of financing options, from discounted upfront payments, pay-as-you-lean and the ExploreAI Academy Loan.  All applicable course costs can be found below the course information on each course page.  Keep scrolling, the costs are there.

At ExploreAI Academy we value aptitude and attitude - demonstrate those and you're sure to thrive in our Academy.  Whilst there are some specific prerequisites for our advanced programmes (these can be found on the course pages in the Pre-requisites box), for the most part we don't have specific educational or experience prerequisites.  
There are prerequisites for the limited sponsored places on offer.  See the FAQ section on Sponsorships for details.

Drop us an email at [email protected] and our Admissions teams will help you with pleasure!

Our Data Science Sponsored programme has a set of assessments included in the Admissions process.  Other than that, all of our other courses have similar processes and steps.  Click Enrol Now on the course page and follow the steps.  

Once you've registered a profile and applied for a course, the Student Dashboard is your information and process hub where you can download documents, complete assessments (if required) and manage your payments.  Easy-peasy! 

After receiving your course & payment confirmation email (when you've paid), you will receive all course-related emails and your login details from your dedicated course facilitator, on the course start date.

All learning takes place through our Learning Platform, so no additional course material is required.  You will be able to access the material once you receive login details on the course start date.

Your participation in a specific course is only secured once you have made the minimum payment necessary to complete the application process.   A payment (in part or full) secures your place and will ensure that login details are sent to you to unlock your learning journey.                

If you enrol in a full-time course at ExploreAI Academy, you will be kept busy by approximately 50 hours of course-related content and activities per week, and have more face-time with your facilitators in the form of tutorial classes, and weekly discussion group meetings. You will also have the opportunity to get used to working in a team on larger projects. We simulate a work environment to acclimate you and get you excited about entering the workforce. The full-time course is suitable for anyone who is willing and able to make a full-time commitment.

If you enrol in a part-time course, you will have around 15 hours per week of course-related content and activities to complete. We take into consideration the fact that you may be working or have other responsibilities and make sure the course load suits that.  That being said, you will still need to be diligent and dedicated to being successful. You will have access to a discussion forum where facilitators will assist you during working hours, as well as bi-weekly webinars to cover more difficult concepts or give you a more in-depth explanation of a topic.  As with the full-time course, we encourage you to engage with your peers and use the ExploreAI Academy community to your advantage.

ExploreAI Academyoffers a selection of financing options, from discounted upfront payments, pay-as-you-learn and the ExploreAI Academy Loan.  All applicable course costs can be found below the course information on each course page.  Keep scrolling, the costs are there.

Please refer to our Withdrawn and cancellation policy which is available on your student dashboard once you have applied for a course.

Our loan offering gives learners the opportunity to pay smaller installments over a 36 month period. 
Applicants for the loan can either be the learner themselves, or someone else financing their studies.  To be eligible for the loan, the loan applicant needs to be a South African citizen, earn more than R3 500/m and have no criminal or bad credit records. 

To apply for the loan, click the ‘Apply Now’ button for the ExploreAI Academy Loan in the pricing section on the relevant course page.  

Indeed you do.  Learners receive a certificate of participation upon successful completion of the programme for which they were granted a loan.  As soon as the loan is completely repaid, an updated certificate of completion is issued.

Payments can be made by credit card payment or an EFT both of which are securely facilitated by our payment gateway Paygate.  Credit card payments are then deducted on the 29th of each month (or the closest weekday to that date) to allow for seamless, automatic payments - no hassle or remembering required! 

All payments are made via the Payments tab on the Student Dashboard once an applicant has applied for a course. 

Once an applicant has been accepted for a course, an invoice for the course fees can be created on their Student Dashboard.  Invoices can be edited to include personal or company details as required.

A full record of all payments made toward a course can be found on the Payments tab of a learner’s Student Dashboard.  Please note that direct EFT payments (not made via Paygate) take 3-5 working days to reflect in the Payments tab.                    

Any payments not made via Paygate require manual processing through a banking institution, and therefor take 3-5 days to reflect as a payment on a learner’s account.  Please ensure Proof of Payment is sent to: [email protected] to facilitate this process.

Yes we do, corporate organisations offer sponsored Data Science learnerships for a limited number of exceptional candidates each year.  Rigorous testing requirements apply.

South African citizens aged between 18 and 35 years can apply for our sponsorships.  

There are no educational or qualification requirements as a pre-requisite for sponsorship, however, a background or experience in mathematics, statistics or programming is advised.

Eligible applicants can apply via the Data Science course page where they will be guided to provide application information and complete multiple technical assessments.  The final round comprises a video interview submission. 

All decisions around sponsored places are final and are determined based on multiple factors, including but not limited to the combined results of the assessment process and the sponsor organisation’s requirements.

Certainly not!  Due to the limited number of sponsored places, the competition for seats is tough and our testing is hard.  This doesn’t mean that you aren’t cut out to be a data master.  You are more than welcome to pay for and attend any of our other courses for which the entry requirements are lower as there are more places available.  

Sorry, no - the matching process is a fine art and no swaps, changes, selections or preferences will be accommodated.

Yes and no.  The content and delivery mechansim for the first 8 months of the programme is identical for both sponsored and non-sponsored learners.  After 7 months of learning, sponsored students participate in an internship working on projects with and for their sponsor organisations.  This is a compulsory, full-time commitment to delivering value for the sponsor company.  
The full sponsored programme takes 12 months to complete and a monthly living allowance is included.

All ExploreAI Academy's courses are delivered through our state-of-the-art learning platform.  Content is made available in sprints that have set start and end dates, with assessments usually due towards the end of each sprint.  A weekly schedule of suggested pacing is provided so that learners can measure their progress and plan their time accordingly.   Each sprint builds on the one preceding it, and learners cannot access future material until the current sprint is concluded.

There are regular webinars and pop-up classes for optional (but strongly encouraged) attendance by learners.  All of these are recorded so that if a learner cannot attend the scheduled slot, they can view the session at their leisure.  
Read more here

Given the sprint delivery of our course content and the facilitator support on offer, a learner can complete each sprint in a shorter time than the suggested duration, but they cannot begin the next sprint until the start date of that sprint.  In other words, you cannot complete a course before the course ends.

We work with learners to develop their curiosity, collaboration and to extend the prescribed learning with additional activities and ‘stretch’ learning.  If a learner is done working, we find something interesting for them to expand a horizon.

We employ a team of experienced academics and data scientists who have both industry experience and academic backing (most have a Masters or PhD).  Our content team work closely with industry experts to ensure the learning is state-of-the-art, relevant and most of all fun, challenging and intuitive. 

All ExploreAI Academy's courses are delivered through our state-of-the-art learning platform.  Content is made available in sprints with set start and end dates, with assessments usually due towards the end of each sprint.  A weekly schedule of suggested pacing is provided so that learners can measure their progress and plan their time accordingly.

There are exams and test dates that are communicated in advance so that learners can manage their time and schedules accordingly.  

Essentially learners are empowered to study material at their own pace, within the boundaries of the sprint content release and assessment timing.  Webinars and pop-up classes are scheduled in advance, and recorded to allow learners who cannot attend the sessions to access the material covered.

All of our learning programmes are delivered remotely and entirely online.  We no longer offer on-campus learning.

Full-time courses
Our facilitators are passionate about guiding you in your learning journey and will be available during office hours to offer technical assistance for the duration of the course. You will have access to weekly tutorial classes as well as discussion groups with your class mates.  Your support comes not only from faculty, but also from your peers. We aim to create a supportive and engaging community to enhance your learning experience and to create a strong network of excellence to call on beyond the completion of your programme.

ExploreAI Academy acknowledges that your learning with us is only a portion of your whole, busy and full life.  And that sometimes life throws curveballs in your way.  We have professional life coaches available for appointments to offer non-technical support on life and everything else.  

Don't suffer in silence, put up your hand and ask for help!

The minimum specifications required to complete any of our courses are:

Operating System: Since we make use of Windows based apps, Windows 10 is recommended (Windows 7 minimum).   iOS ican be supported.

Processor: Minimum i3. Baseline higher than 2GHz

RAM: Minimum 4GB

Bandwidth: 20GB data per month should be sufficient, but will vary based on your personal activity

Communication: Webcam and Microphone

To complete our courses, you will need a current email account and access to a computer and the internet, as well as a PDF Reader. 

You may need to make use of the Google office suite, which is free to anyone with a Gmail account.  Alternatively, Microsoft Office applications (such as PowerPoint and Word) may be used. 

We recommend using Google Chrome to access our courses, but any popular browser will suffice. Certain courses may require additional software and resources. In such cases, we will ensure that they will operate properly on a device with the specifications recommended. 

No textbooks or other learning materials are required for EXPLORE programmes, all learning happens via our fun, intuitive and powerful learning platform.  

You will need to ensure adequate time to dedicate to the material.  Learning at EXPLORE is all about self-sufficiency, enquiry, learning from and with peers and wrestling with interesting concepts until you understand them.  When we suggest a course will take 10 hours per week, we mean a focused, dedicated 10 hours.  

You will receive a certificate of completion from ExploreAI Academy which states the modules and skills mastered during the programme attended.  

SETA registered learners who comply with the requirements will also receive a SETA certificate (long courses only).

All our long courses (qualifications) are SETA accredited for either the appropriate unit standards, or a Level 5 Qualification.  Our flagship qualifications are all accredited at SETA Level 5.

Whilst we are not affiliated with any universities or international accreditation bodies, EXPLORE’s reputation as a leader in data skills training precedes it.  We have a presence internationally and our students have gone on to work all over the world.

Not yet, but soon. 

ExploreAI Academy courses result in a certificate of completion which are non-credit bearing. 

As with any education, employment is not guaranteed.  We support students and provide additional bonus content in all qualificaitons and nano-qualifications around job searching in the tech industry, career prospects, resourcing yourself well for a new or better career (CV's, cover letters, portfolios of evidence, profiles etc) as well as guidance on interview techniques for both behavioural and technical interviews.

We set you up for success as you search for a new or better job, or aim for that promotion you've had your eye on...                 

Whilst we support our learners in their job searches and assist with career coaching and recruitment resources we do not guarantee jobs for all learners.  We alert learners to job opportunities when we hear of them, and assist with matching learners with appropriate job specifications.  Our intention is to have all learners find a job, or get a better job when they finish learning with us, most of the responsibility of this task rests with the learners themselves.  

We equip learners with the skills, resources and information to launch their careers in a new and exciting direction!