Girls Tech Boot Camp Equips Nigerian Schoolgirls With Practical Technology Skills
An initiative, Girls Tech Boot Camp, is equipping secondary school girls across Nigeria with practical technology skills as part of efforts to promote greater female participation in the country’s technology sector.
The Project Team Lead, South South Zone, Dr Martha Musa, said this on Monday at the commencement of the five-day training, noting that the project was targeting no fewer than 300 secondary school girls.
According to Musa, selected girls from secondary schools across Nigeria will receive training in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science and Python Programming.
Musa, who is also the Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Port Harcourt, said the initiative was being implemented across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
She said 50 students from four secondary schools were participating in the South South training and were selected based on their interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The participating schools are Royal Girls Academy, Royal Court Private School, Community Secondary School, Alakahia, and Community Secondary School, Rumakwara.
“This programme, sponsored by NeurIPS Foundation and organised by the Girls Techies Humanitarian Initiative, is targeting to close the current gender tech gap in Nigeria.
“We are trying to bridge the technology gap between men and women. This is just the beginning, and we want the girls to continue supporting one another,” she said.
Musa said the initiative was developed in response to the persistent disparity between male and female participation in STEM, particularly in information technology.
She noted that the underrepresentation of women in technology was partly driven by societal perceptions that technology was predominantly a male field.
She urged girls and women to reject such stereotypes and take advantage of opportunities in technology, saying they could excel and provide leadership in the sector.
“Tech is not a man’s field. There are successful women in the sector, and so the students can succeed, thrive and lead.
“Women can combine family responsibilities with professional achievement. Gone are the days when women were expected to sit at home and do nothing,” she said.
According to Musa, the programme provides participants with practical exposure while creating opportunities for them to build confidence and maintain their interest in technology.
She said experts had been engaged to train the girls and ensure that their learning experience was practical, engaging and enjoyable.
Musa added that the organisers also hoped to establish technology clubs that would allow participants to continue learning and supporting one another after the boot camp.
“This initiative will help create a pipeline of female technology professionals capable of contributing to Nigeria’s digital economy.
“We want this training to inspire more Nigerian girls to pursue STEM careers and contribute to closing the gender gap in the technology industry,” she added.
Also, a technology expert, Mr Oluwole Olajide, expressed confidence that early exposure to technology would enable girls to compete favourably with their male counterparts.
Olajide, a Content Developer and Programme Coordinator, said experience from previous technology programmes had shown that female students could perform exceptionally well when given opportunities to develop technology skills.
“We believe that the female child can also do well in tech if they taught and exposed to technology at an early age,” he said.
Olajide said the training was being conducted across the six geopolitical zones, with activities already held in Kwara and Yola, while Enugu, Ibadan and Kaduna were among the other locations.
One of the beneficiaries, Igwe Vanessa, 14, of Royal Girls Academy, Port Harcourt, said she joined the programme because of her interest in Information and Communication Technology.
Vanessa said her dream had always been to become a software engineer with coding skills.
“I am optimistic that this bootcamp will provide me with the opportunity to realise my dreams in the future,” she said.
Another participant, Divine Omosigo-Frank, 13, of Royal Court Private School, Port Harcourt, said she wanted to acquire skills in AI and other emerging technologies.
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