Every class at iLab is led by a named, qualified teacher, not a recording and not an anonymous account. Below are the people who run the academy, the people who advise it, and the faculty who teach in it.
Leadership
Who runs the academy
Founder & Chief Executive
Huzaifah Lutaaya Idris
Senior Software Engineer
Founded iLab and leads the platform that runs it — the live classroom, the levels framework, the student dashboard and the mobile apps. A senior software engineer, he has been working with German tech companies since 2021 — currently parcelLab in Munich, previously lawpilots in Berlin and CAPTIQ — after engineering roles across Africa with Andela, Retro Rabbit and New Vision.
Full Stack Engineer, CAPTIQ GmbHOct 2020 – Feb 2024 · Germany
Full Stack Engineer & Team Lead, Idex Africa — New Vision appJul – Oct 2020 · Uganda
Full Stack Engineer, Retro RabbitAug 2019 – Jul 2020 · South Africa
Software Developer, AndelaAug 2018 – Aug 2019 · Uganda
Systems Programmer, Islamic University in UgandaJan – Jul 2018 · Kampala, Uganda
Kampala, Uganda
Head of Academy
Kiberu Faiswal Salim
Ijāzah in the Qurʾan, with the complete Qirāʾāt · BA Sharia, Islamic University of Madinah
A Sharia graduate of the Islamic University of Madinah, currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Sharia at the Islamic University in Uganda. He leads the academy: curriculum, teaching standards, placement assessments, and final approval of every student promotion between levels.
Kampala, Uganda
Head of Development & Marketing
Nabil Matovu
Halal Events Manager · Entrepreneur & Business Advocate
A halal events manager, entrepreneur and business advocate, he is the director responsible for growth and outreach — bringing iLab to students and families across Uganda and the diaspora.
Kampala, Uganda
Head of Media
Lubwama Akram
BA Industrial & Fine Art (Advertising Design), Makerere University — MTSIFA
A creative director, graphic designer, photographer, videographer and UI/UX designer with extensive experience in multimedia production, branding and digital communications. Head of Visual Production at Pixsar Media Ltd, he has also taught multimedia and graphic design under the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT), and leads the media department at iLab — the visuals, video and design behind the platform.
Kampala, Uganda
Board of advisors
Oversight and counsel
The board advises on the standards a student is measured against and on the platform that records them, so an iLab level means the same thing here as it would anywhere else.
Board of Advisors
Mr. Sekalema Hamza
MSc Computer Science & Applications, Islamic University of Technology
Enterprise Resource Planning Manager at Islamic University in Uganda, where he has lectured since 2004. He planned and implemented the university’s core Academics and Financial systems, and advises iLab on platform architecture.
Mbale, Uganda
Board of Advisors
Dr Mu’ath Muhammad Muyingo
Doctorate in Qurʾan studies, Islamic University of Madinah
A scholar of Qurʾanic studies, he advises the academy on the Qurʾanic sciences and on the standards students are assessed against at each level.
Board of Advisors
Dr Walusimbi Abdul Hafiz
PhD in Islamic Law, International Islamic University Islamabad
Head of the Department of Shariah and Senior Lecturer at the Islamic University in Uganda, and a lecturer in Religion and Peace Studies at Makerere University. He has served as Director of Shariah and Legal Affairs at the Office of the Supreme Mufti and chairs the national examinations committee for Idaad and Thanawi, and he advises iLab on Shariah and on the standards behind its curriculum.
Media & creative
The team behind the visuals
The designers and producers who shape how iLab looks and sounds, from the classroom experience to everything you see published.
Still Graphics Designer
Kasagga Jawaad
Higher Diploma in Graphics and Technology, Universal Institute of Graphics and Technology
A graphic, UI/UX and brand designer and photographer who creates impactful visual designs, brand identities and digital experiences. With experience at Guio Mentor and Pixsar Media, he combines design thinking and visual storytelling to help brands communicate effectively.
Uganda
Faculty
Your teachers
Teachers are matched to your level at placement. You keep the same teacher through a level, so the person correcting your recitation knows exactly what you worked on last week.
Qurʾan & Islamic Studies
Bashir Ibrahim
Studied the Qurʾan and its riwāyāt in the masājid of Istanbul
Born and raised in Kibuli, where he began with the Qurʾan in the masājid of his community as a child. He studied in Eskişehir, Turkey from 2015 — a year of Turkish and a year of Arabic before his degree, graduating in 2022 — and throughout stayed close to the Qurʾan in the circles of knowledge of Istanbul, studying its riwāyāt under several teachers. Teaching in Uganda since 2022.
Kampala, Uganda
Qurʾan & Islamic Studies
Namigadde Firdaus
Ḥifẓ of the Qurʾan · BA Daʿwa and Islamic Culture
Memorised the Qurʾan and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Daʿwa and Islamic Culture, with extensive experience in teaching and community leadership.
Arabic & Qurʾan
Janaat Jariah
Four years of experience teaching Arabic and Qurʾan to children and adults — tajweed, memorisation and Arabic language — through interactive, student-centred online lessons.
Qurʾan & Tajweed
Ilhaam Bint Sulait
Ḥāfizah of the Qurʾan
A Ḥāfizah passionate about teaching the Qurʾan and helping students learn to recite it correctly. Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering and Management at Kyambogo University.
Qurʾan & Islamic Studies
Muchika Yahya Abdu
Bachelor’s degree in Sharia
A Sharia graduate who teaches Qurʾan and Islamic studies at iLab.
Kasese, Uganda
Qurʾan & Tajweed
Mukasa Taufic Kigongo
Certificate in Qurʾanic Studies, Darul Qurʾan, Istanbul
A graduate of Qurʾanic studies from Darul Qurʾan in Istanbul, Turkey, with ten years of teaching experience.
Qurʾan & Qirāʾāt
Buzirah Sadat
Ongoing student, Islamic University of Madinah
A Qurʾan teacher versed in the Qirāʾāt, currently pursuing his studies at the Islamic University of Madinah.
Qurʾan memorisation
Ssenkumba Abdulhakim
Ḥifẓ of the Qurʾan
A Ugandan teacher of Qurʾan dedicated to guiding students through recitation and memorisation.
Uganda
Qurʾan & Qirāʾāt
Lubega Musa
Certificate in Qurʾan memorisation · Ijāzah in the recitations of Abū Jaʿfar, Ibn Kathīr and Qālūn
A teacher of Qurʾan holding a certificate in memorisation and ijāzah in the recitations of Abū Jaʿfar, Ibn Kathīr and Qālūn, alongside a diploma in secondary education.
Masaka Road, Uganda
Islamic Studies & Tafsīr
Habibah Nakayonjo
BSc Islamic Studies, International University of Africa (Sudan) — Tafsīr
Holds a degree in Islamic Studies from the International University of Africa in Sudan, specialising in Tafsīr.
Sharia & Islamic Studies
Katongole Idris
BA Sharia, Islamic University in Uganda
A Sharia graduate of the Islamic University in Uganda, teaching Islamic studies at iLab.
Qurʾan & Islamic Studies
Magala Ukasha Hussein
BA Sharia · MA Sharia (ongoing), IUIU · BSc Accounting & Finance
Teaches Qurʾan and related subjects. A graduate in Accounting and Finance (2023) and in Sharia from the Islamic University in Uganda, now pursuing a Master’s in Sharia.
