Glossary term
Pre-training
The first, large-scale training stage where a model learns general patterns from broad data before being specialised. It gives foundation models their broad capabilities.
Why it matters
Pre-training sits at the centre of how modern AI systems are built and used, so understanding it changes how confidently you can work with the tools. In the Global South, where access to compute, devices and training is uneven, getting this vocabulary right is not academic — it is the difference between watching the AI shift and taking part in it.
In context
We use Pre-training in the ai & machine learning part of our work. Students meet the concept in workshops, mentors reference it while reviewing projects, and partners see it in the reporting we send after every programme. Keeping the definition plain means a first-year student and a ministry official can hold the same conversation.
How Tembi Labs uses it
Pre-training is not left on a slide. Our AI hackathons put concepts to work within hours: teams pick a local problem, use AI tools to prototype, and present something running by Sunday. Teams meet it directly the moment they open a model and start building — it stops being theory and becomes a setting they tune.
At a Tembi Labs hackathon, understanding Pre-training means a student can move from asking "what is this?" to shipping a working prototype in a weekend — and walk away with a portfolio piece, a mentor network and a credible path into tech work.
Want to see Pre-training applied on campus?
Book a call and we will walk you through how a Tembi Labs AI hackathon or computer room works at your university.