Adam Reynolds

Learning Engineering Specialist, Siyavula Foundation

Adam has been with Siyavula for over a decade. He’s a former high school maths and science teacher and now lives in a deep rural part of South Africa. He’s a generalising specialist, and considers himself an “EdTech sceptic working from within”. He has a Master’s in Education, is passionate about applying principles from positive and cognitive psychology to problems in education, and is responsible for Siyavula’s adaptive algorithm. He codes, analyses data, designs questions, and has immense respect for how important nuance and context can be when solving problems.

Mark Horner

Director of Learning & Impact, Siyavula Foundation

As the founder of Siyavula, Mark has dedicated himself to leveraging technology for educational advancement since 2002. His journey began while earning a PhD in Physics, sparked by the realisation that collaboration and open source tools could help give South African children access to high-quality learning materials. He has spearheaded the development of comprehensive, openly-licensed mathematics and science textbooks for multiple grades in South Africa and established the Siyavula practice platform to further support instruction in these fields, leveraging technology, learning science, and an enthusiastic team. Mark champions a love of maths and science for all learners, regardless of their background.

Rayhaan Perin

Data Analyst, Siyavula Foundation

Rayhaan is a Data Analyst at Siyavula, where he focuses on extracting, processing, and analysing raw platform numbers to help the team evaluate user data and metrics. He is currently in the final stages of completing his PhD in Physics. Combined with his background lecturing and supporting students who face academic challenges, Rayhaan brings strong analytical skills to the foundation’s data operations, helping ensure that the team has the workable data they need to measure student success.

Paulo Carvalho

Assistant Professor, HCII Carnegie Mellon University

Paulo is an assistant professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. His research investigates how learners’ cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational processes can inform more effective, practice-first educational technologies. He specializes in designing, deploying, and evaluating AI-driven adaptive systems, with a core focus on scaling these innovations successfully into real classrooms.