The Working to Advance STEM Education for African Women (WAAW) Foundation and Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation recently empowered 200 Nigerian youths in Computer programming and entrepreneurship.
WAAW foundation partnered ACT foundation to empower 200 Nigerian youth between the ages 18 to 30 years as technology innovators, leaders and entrepreneurs. She Hacks Africa Coding boot camp is a 4-week intensive in-person training workshop on software development, leadership and entrepreneurship, where the youths learn software programming and then practice what they have learned in project-based exercises that aim to simulate the every-day work environment and build their self-confidence as community change makers and technology innovators and entrepreneurs.
The She Hacks Africa program sponsored by ACT foundation ran in Lagos, training 200 young men and women.
Dr. Unoma Okorafor, the president and Chief Executive Officer of WAAW Foundation said, “Our goal is to provide an accelerated path for Nigerian youths to develop 21st century skills that are in high demand in labour market today. There are a lot of opportunities in learning computer programming, it can be applied across various fields and that’s one of the major ways we can solve the problems we are facing in Africa. This program has built the next generation of Nigerian youth in technology.”
Through a continuous and intensive training focused on simulated, real-world application, participants were able to quickly integrate into existing technology company teams and initiate their technology start-ups.
She said the range of programming languages and platforms concentrate on full stack web development and mobile app development including HTML5, CSS , JavaScript LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL, PHP), MEAN Stack (Mongo DB, Express, Angular JS, Node JS).
‘’We also offer Java and Oracle programming. We expose participants to various development platforms, code integration tools like GitHub and software testing and debugging tools. Our participants learn agile development methodologies and other key elements including communication, documentation/record keeping and morals/ethics needed to succeed in a technology position.
“Partnering with Act foundation is a vital step towards preparing more young Nigerian women to take up jobs in technology sector, launch their start-up and shape the world.” said, TolulopeAdeyemo, Executive director.
The workshop learning experience is project-based with lectures, collaborative work, and real-world exercises making up the instructional framework. Participants had the opportunity to meet and network with mentors and role models who inspired and motivated them to stay in the profession and become future leaders.