Rev. Dr Louis Martin Rakotoarilala, AA, views himself as a “pure product of the Jesuits,” having been formed by them in Nairobi at Hekima University College and at the Jesuit Gregorian University in Rome. His return to Hekima is defined by deep familiarity and continuity. Despite being an Assumptionist, his entire academic lineage is Jesuit. He even jokes that he only joined the Assumptionists to avoid making his own family (which includes two Jesuit uncles) a “family congregation.”
He now works alongside his former teachers, Rev. Prof. Chukwuemeka Orji, SJ, and former classmates, the current Hekima Jesuits Rector, Rev. Dr Emmanuel Foro, SJ. This, he said, has made his transition from the “classroom seat” to the “front of the room” seamless, while he remains committed to the dual goals of the HUC: Academic Excellence and Pastoral Formation. He views his teaching not just as a transfer of data, but as preparing students for their future lives as pastors.
Navigating the Era of AI
Dr Louis Martin acknowledges that AI is a “big challenge” for modern education, particularly for take-home assignments where the authenticity of a student’s work is harder to verify. It is a significant challenge because students sometimes tend to use AI to check their assignments. He shares his specific strategies for two very different subjects that he teaches at Hekima, Latin and Canon Law.
For the Latin Class, Dr Louis Martin calls it “the Holy Spirit” vs the Text! In a humorous twist, he revealed that his class has nicknamed AI “The Holy Spirit.” His strategy here is to compose his own original exercises and texts rather than using standard textbook examples found online. “I usually tell them to follow only what I have given them because I know that their ‘Holy Spirit’ does not know what I have given them.” The result is that he often proves to his students that their ‘Holy Spirit’ (AI) cannot solve the specific problems he creates. If they rely on AI instead of his specific instructions, they fail the exercise.
For his Canon Law class, Dr Louis Martin Prioritizes Human Intelligence. He avoids long, commentary-heavy research papers that are susceptible to AI generation and focuses on the Code of Canon Law itself as the primary commentary. He uses direct, practical assessments by asking students to read a specific Canon and explain its application in real-time. This forces the student to use “his/her intelligence, but not the artificial intelligence.”
He admits that his subjects (Latin and Canon Law) lend themselves to practical, oral, or highly specific testing that bypasses AI. He acknowledges that for “research-heavy” courses, the challenge is much steeper for his colleagues.
His core philosophy remains: Education must stay practical. By focusing on how a student will use the Law or a language in their ministry, he ensures that the learning process remains a human, intellectual endeavour rather than a digital shortcut.
By Pamela Adinda, HUC Communications and International Office
