By Desmond Ejibas
Port Harcourt – An initiative, Girls Tech Boot Camp, is equipping secondary school girls across Nigeria with practical technology skills to promote greater female participation in the country’s technology sector.
The Project Team Lead, South South Zone, Dr Martha Musa, said on Monday at the starting of the five-day training, that the project was targeting no fewer than 300 secondary school girls.
According to her, selected girls in secondary schools across Nigeria will be trained in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science and Python Programming.
Musa, who is also Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Port Harcourt, said the initiative was being implemented across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
She said 50 students from four secondary schools were participating in the South South training and 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 designed in response to the persistent disparity between male and female participation in STEM, particularly 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 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 her, the programme provides participants with practical exposure while creating opportunities for them to develop confidence and sustain their interest in technology.
Musa said experts had been engaged to train the girls and make their learning experience practical, engaging and enjoyable.
She said the organisers also hoped to establish technology clubs that would enable 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 is a Content Developer and Programme Coordinator.
He said experience from previous tech programmes showed 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 skills in coding.
“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.
“I want to learn more ways I can use AI programmes to make my school project easier and more effective,” she added. (NAN)
