Dr. Bob Allen loves showing his students how they can give back to the community through their computer science knowledge.
In April, he was awarded Mercer’s 2025-26 EXPy Award for excellence in experiential learning in recognition of his outreach programs at home in Middle Georgia and abroad in South Africa. Dr. Allen received three student nominations for the award.
“It’s so special. It’s such a shock and surprise,” Dr. Allen, professor and co-chair of computer science, said of receiving the award. “There are so many people that do so many service projects that I just feel so honored that they picked me this year.”
This summer, Dr. Allen is leading his sixth Mercer On Mission trip to Cape Town, South Africa. Since 2019, he has collaborated with Cape Town resident Filbert Mushiringi, who began with an after-school computer program and now has his own small school, on the Mercer On Mission program. About a dozen Mercer students usually accompany Dr. Allen on the three-week trip, during which they teach computer science and technical skills to kids of all ages in the Khayelitsha township.
“The Mercer students experience another culture, another world in Cape Town,” Dr. Allen said. “They always come back and say it was a highlight of their Mercer experience. (They) apply the things they learn and give back to the community.”
The program now serves about 50 children, divided into elementary, middle and high school groups for age-appropriate parallel lessons. The Mercerians teach coding with various technology and tools they bring, which have included desktops and laptops; Raspberry Pi devices; LEGO SPIKE and Microbit robots; 3D printers; Alexa and Google Home devices; and Wi-Fi programmable devices like LED lights, switches and fans.
They have used computer programs such as Jeroo, Python, Scratch and EarSketch for coding activities. A highlight for the kids is often the battlebot robotics competitions.
The Mercer faculty and students also do a lot of “unplugged,” technology-free activities to teach computer science concepts, especially during Cape Town’s scheduled electricity blackouts. For example, one activity involves placing a grid on the floor and having participants give coding instructions to someone acting as a robot, and another uses a key for decoding/encoding messages.
“Teaching these topics required me not only to understand the material on a deep level, but to translate it across cultural, educational and resource differences,” Samantha Butler, CLAS ‘27, a cybersecurity and information science and technology double-major, said of her Mercer On Mission experience in her nomination letter for Dr. Allen. “The experience transformed my understanding of both technology and service-learning by showing me how technical knowledge becomes powerful when it is accessible, relevant and community-centered.”
The Mercerians have also taught cybersecurity and data science lessons, and they hope to incorporate some artificial intelligence learning this summer, Dr. Allen said. Among the planned activities for the upcoming trip, the kids will make a 3D lithophane print of their faces, and they will create a song using EarSketch and an accompanying music video using Scratch.
The Mercer On Mission program also focuses on computer science teacher education, and this summer, the Mercerians will devote the first week to training teachers at Mushiringi’s school.
“It’s a good match for the things I love to do,” Dr. Allen said of his Mercer On Mission program. “I love teaching computer science. I love seeing kids teach computer science. It’s inspiring my Mercer kids to give back more to the community. It’s great to get more computer science out in the world.”
Butler detailed how Dr. Allen was fully invested in the growth of the Mercer students as well as the well-being of the South African students during the 2025 trip.
“Throughout the entire experience, he created an environment where we were trusted to lead and teach, but he was always present and ready to support us when we needed guidance. That balance of independence and mentorship allowed us to grow in confidence without ever feeling unsupported,” she said. “What stood out the most was how he genuinely cared. He celebrated our successes, constantly encouraged us, and made sure we knew he was proud of the work we were doing.”
At home in Georgia, Dr. Allen has his hands in a number of computer science outreach initiatives. He is involved in Mercer’s five-year grant project supporting new computer science teachers in eight rural South Georgia counties.
“I like contributing to that and being able to get more teachers comfortable teaching,” Dr. Allen said. “My whole research focus is in K-12 computer science education and helping teachers to prepare them better.”
In addition, Dr. Allen and the computer science department have hosted Creative Computer Camps on the Macon campus for area kids for more than 15 summers. And in fall 2024, he launched a computer science-focused after-school program called “Technology Quest” at nearby Roberts Academy, a transitional school for children with dyslexia.
Each semester, students from Dr. Allen’s Information Science and Technology 301 experiential learning course help with the weekly meetings. Lessons built by students in the class have been used not only at Roberts Academy but for the summer camp and Mercer On Mission program.
“Dr. Allen’s enthusiasm and continued pursuit of spreading knowledge has inspired me to do the same,” cybersecurity major Aby Mazariegos, CLAS ‘26, said in her nomination letter. “He is a great leader in showing us how to navigate and get comfortable in a new environment.”
