Meet & Chat with the Founder
Prof. Michael Wainaina, PhD.
Founder & Principal Architect of Educational Innovation and Institutional Design,
Intaspordia Schools.
Founders’ Message
Having devoted my whole adult life from the late 80’s to education—as a student, T.S.C teacher, academic, scholar, researcher, department chair, dean, and university professor and now educational entrepreneur—I have watched first-hand as our educational institutions lag far behind the realities of the modern child. In my own lifetime, the world we are living in has changed unrecognisably – it is no longer linear, predictable, or confined to fixed pathways; it is digital, complex, and evolving at a pace that traditional schooling was never designed to accommodate. The stakes of this lag are enormous—not just for learners, but for societies and economies like ours, seeking innovation, leadership, and adaptability.
Watching this, a conviction that schools must be reimagined & consequently transformed crystallized in me over the years. My concern gained impetus at an International Education Technology Conference in Lusaka in 2008. The advances I saw there then – which have since themselves become obsolete as Ed-Tech accelerates exponentially – made it clear that education in Kenya—and in most of the third world—was on pause, at best mark-timing while the technology raced ahead. Yet, from where I sit, technology alone is not even the answer; the answer lies in how technology, pedagogy, the design of learning environments and economies converge to activate transformative potential.
Intaspordia is the manifestation of this conviction. I have deliberately designed it as a transformative, modern, multidimensional ecosystem, anchored in two operational principles: powered by technology, grounded in play. It operationalizes pedagogy not as a static delivery of content but as a dynamic, responsive system where technology amplifies learning, and play expands creative and cognitive possibilities. Here, I have created a setting where the ecosystem itself catalyzes transformation.
What I have imagined is more than a school—it is a proof-of-concept for what the future of education must be: adaptive, scalable, and capable of cultivating the kinds of thinkers, creators, and leaders that modern economies demand. The design of Intaspordia anticipates the inevitable post-curriculum paradigm, where competency, curiosity, and multidimensional skill development take precedence over rigid subject silos and curricula. It demonstrates that modern pedagogy, when thoughtfully implemented, is both profoundly transformative and institutionally sustainable.
Central to my vision is a fundamental re-definition of talent development at Intaspordia—not as a by-product of narrow academic success, but as a multi-dimensional capacity that flourishes through progrmmed, sustained engagement in five domains that increasingly define modern value creation. In our Schools of Sports, Media & Technology and Arts & Design, talent is identified, nurtured, and expanded from early practice through professional pathways, with purpose-built environments that align daily learning with programmed progression. I have not imagined these schools as extracurricular add-ons or isolated academies; they are integral to our system where competency in athletic performance, digital fluency, creative expression, and technological innovation are cultivated with the same intentionality and rigor as ‘curricula’ cognitive skills, giving our learners a genuine head start in fields where early mastery drives real personal and economic opportunity, globally.
I have conceived Intaspordia not as a collection of programs, but as a learning ecosystem. Learning is shaped by the interaction of sound revisionist pedagogical & schooling theory, substitutive digital pedagogical ecology, purposed physical space, play culture, programming, and opportunity. Lasting transformation only occurs when these elements are designed to interact and reinforce one another. This ecological systems approach allows innovation to compound rather than fragment, future-proofing the school to remain adaptive, resilient, and relevant as social, technological, and economic conditions continue to evolve.
My vision is clear: to create a new model of multi-dimensional schooling that is simultaneously transformative for learners, viable for institutions, and scalable for wider impact, across sectors and disciplines. A schooling where greatness is possible. I submit that the pedagogical choices we make today—how children learn, how learning spaces are designed, and how learning ecosystems are constructed—cascade into long-term economic, social, and cultural outcomes. We operate at the intersection of several powerful sectors: the education industry itself (curriculum, assessment, accreditation, and talent pathways), technology and digital infrastructure, creative and cultural industries, sport and performance ecosystems, finance and investment, and the governance and policy environments that enable scale and legitimacy. I invite all education stakeholders to Intaspordia where they will find a project that is as much about shaping the future of knowledge and capability as it is about building an enduring institution.
My personal commitment to this transformation is absolute. Intaspordia is the consolidative culmination of my career, my scholarship, my vision and my intellectual and material investment across 3 careers and a cultivated eclectic skill base. Intaspordia embodies the institutional proof that schools can viably be designed for a digital, complex, and rapidly changing world without compromising on quality and outcomes. It is both my template and a testbed, demonstrating that pedagogy, innovation, and operational viability are inseparable when the goal is to prepare children for the world they will inhabit—not the world we once knew. Its legacy is to demonstrate—without ambiguity—that we can re-think and re-design schooling at its foundations to meet the demands of a complex, digital world, and sustain transformation with rigor, viability, and scale.
For those who share this urgency and see the strategic potential of education done differently, Intaspordia offers a partnership in a long-term endeavor to set new standards, unlock human potential, and establish a replicable model for a new epoch of transformative, post-curriculum, multi-dimensional schools.
Karibu to the future of schooling!
Prof. Michael Wainaina, Ph.D.
Founder & Principal Architect of Educational Innovation and Institutional Design,
Intaspordia Schools.
Nairobi, August, 2025.
Prof's Picks...
In my Your 5 Minutes Teacher vlog, I address matters Education, Parenting, Childhood, Youth and School.
I have selected a few lessons for you, titles that I think are relevant to the conversation on re-thinking how we educate, re-thinking how your parenting should relate to your child’s school and the re-thinking that anchors the revisionist approach behind Intaspordia Schools.
These are my top picks. You can check out the lessons that haven’t made it to my picks on the intaspordia_schools YouTube channel.
When it comes to your child's school, different is better than better!
This lesson gets to the pick because it challenges parents to rethink what truly makes a school right for their child. In a world where most schools offer variations of the same model, choosing different over better unlocks a more meaningful, personalized education. It’s not just about academic performance—it’s about finding a place where your child’s individuality, creativity, and emotional growth are prioritized.
What is your child's school selling?
This makes it to my pick because it shifts the focus from flashy amenities to meaningful educational substance. It encourages you to ask deeper questions about what truly matters in a school—how it teaches, what it values, and how it nurtures a child’s full development. By learning to look beyond appearances and ask the right questions, you are better equipped to choose a school that genuinely supports your child’s growth and potential.
Which way for your child? "Local" or "International" Curriculum?
This makes it to my pick because it demystifies the illusion that one curriculum is inherently superior to another, urging you instead to focus on how a school delivers that curriculum. It challenges you to prioritize how a school recognizes and responds to your child’s individuality rather than being swayed by curriculum branding. Ultimately, it empowers you to seek educational environments that nurture curiosity, creativity, and personal growth—qualities that matter far more than whether a school is “local” or “international.”
In the world of AI, what, how and why should we teach?
This lesson makes it to my pick because it challenges parents, educators, and policymakers to confront a hard truth: our schools are still teaching for a world that no longer exists. While artificial intelligence can now outlearn, outthink, and outperform humans in many traditional skills, our curricula remain stuck in the pre-digital era—ignoring AI entirely. The video argues that continuing with outdated models isn’t just slow; it’s reckless.
You are not taking your child to school for the world you went to school for!
This one makes it to my picks because it challenges you to confront a difficult but urgent truth: the education that once prepared you for success is no longer enough for your children. Today’s world demands a different set of skills—called 21st Century learning and life skills—skills that traditional schooling often fails to nurture. If you don’t actively question whether your child’s school is preparing them for the future, you risk unknowingly setting your child up for irrelevance in a rapidly changing world.
3 must ask questions in your next teacher-parent conference.
I have picked this one because it empowers you to move beyond passive listening in parent-teacher conferences and start asking the kinds of questions that reveal who your child truly is as a learner and as a person. By focusing on learning style, emotional disposition, and natural interests, you gain a richer, more holistic understanding of your child’s development—insights that grades alone can never provide. When used this way, conferences become powerful tools for advocacy, enabling you to actively shape an educational experience that honors your child’s individuality across all subjects and stages.
Is your child the type that the school they are in wants?
I have picked this lesson for you because it reveals how traditional school systems often misinterpret creativity as defiance, pushing imaginative children into molds they were never meant to fit. It invites you to rethink discipline and conformity not as signs of growth, but as possible threats to your child’s originality and confidence. By recognizing this dynamic, you can become a powerful advocate for nurturing your child’s unique strengths rather than allowing them to be subdued by systems that value obedience over innovation.