By Christy Dada
About one thousand children drawn from Ejigbo Local Council Development Authority area in Lagos and it’s environment are set to benefit from another edition of the Teens Can Code Conference.
The one-day free training conference focuses on training teenagers and secondary school students basic computer programming skills by experts and tech influencers .
Some of the speakers include Mrs. Tola Salau, a STEM Educator), Mrs. Olabisi Olaleye, Sun Newspaper, Mr. Ayoola Jolayemi, CEO, SwiftThink Limited, Mr. Wale Yusuf, Founder/CEO TechPoint.NG and representative of Oracle Nigeria.
Others are Master Olaolu Olawuyi (a 16 year old celebrated programmer) and Titi Oni (StartZone).
To further inspire the students, Kehinde Otolorin, a comedian popularly known as Kennyblaq will also grace the occasion. The comedian who was born and raised in the Lagos suburb will be one of the star attractions at the one day seminar cum talk shop.
Speaking about the event, the Convener, Mr Damian Ezirim, said there is plan for continuity after the event. According the award-winning programmer, 50 students from Ejigbo LCDA will be trained in a one month intensive class. The focus would be on python programming and the training would run from November 15th – December 15th.
According to him, the event is expanding to cover more areas in Lagos.
“The last two editions held in Ikotun and Ajegunle, two populated area of Lagos attracted support from organizations such as Microsoft, Facebook, Andela and BudgIT .
Ezirim spoke further, “Our target is to equip children in suburb of Lagos who ordinarily would not have access to such opportunities. It is our firm believer that if we can catch them young, then in a few years from now, Nigeria will be one of the top suppliers of computer technology.
The convener added that it has opened up it’s online portals for registration.
Lagos endorses Digital Banana’s Technology hub
By Sampson Unamka
The Lagos State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr Olufemi Odubiyi has inaugurated the Digital Bananas Technology hub (DBT) at Onikan, Lagos.
The DBT is set to empower thousands of Nigerian youths in the acquisition of practical and relevant work experience within the IT Industry.
The commissioner commended DBT team for their efforts in adding value to the existing eco -system and preparing Nigerians for the digital age.
Odubiyi added that DBT, “Basically what you are doing right now is complimenting the eco system that we are trying to encourage and its truly welcomed and from your vision and the way you have articulated it i believe that this would offer a lot of value to Lagosians.
“I am really impressed and proud of your initiative particularly in the diaspora. It is not an easy decision to make but basically I think you are working in the right space and let’s also see how we can partner in moving this project forward.”
He however, noted that the DBT concept being ICT oriented does not only support the federal government’s diversification framework but is also an effective stimulant of the diversification process which the government is currently advocating for.
He said , more youths are exposed or have the ability to gain insight into technology from an establishment like DBT are going to be the productive youth.
“Things are changing around us, The digital world is emphasizing not on the traditional way of doing things but the new way of doing things so we need to be able to ensure that we sustain that migration from the old way by ensuring that we have a training platform that can actually absorb new talent “, Odubiyi said.
Speaking on partnership, he said the state government can easily partner with organizations like DBT adding that, provision will be made for a sustainable infrastructure that can aid in promoting the ideas of innovators to further drive innovative tendencies and skill acquisition that would be applicable in proffering solutions to real life situations in lagos state.
Digital Bananas Technology has been in existence since 2012 and has quickly become famous for its E-work Experience solution.
Chief Executive Officer, Digital Bananas Technology, Mr Keji Giwa explained that the E-work experience programme has spawned experts who have gone on to land lucrative positions as Digital Project Managers, Digital Business Analysts, among other roles.
He said the focus is to empower Nigerians with the right expertise and experience in digital transformation, CRM, digital marketing, cyber security, big data analysis, project management and business analysis and give them the opportunities to compete on a global scale. Also allowing aspiring Nigerians with a minimum bachelor degree to easily work in and collaborate with the UK, US and Canadian team using cloud based project collaborative tools. With over 4,000 success stories in the UK alone and now helping candidates in Nigeria secure life changing digital jobs abroad.