Yearly, Afro-Tech Girls embarks on diverse programs and initiatives with the aim of increasing the participation of girls and young women in STEM. One way we fulfill this mission is by organising bootcamps. These bootcamps are usually targeted at female secondary school students and are a means to provide the girls with STEM training. Since our inception in 2015, we have held three bootcamps through which we have trained over 80 girls in STEM fields. Here’s a recap of past bootcamps.
LSEB Solar Boot Camp Day
Our very first bootcamp was held in 2015 in collaboration with the Lagos State Electricity Board. The bootcamp day, a program of the Lagos Power Kids Initiative, gathered 20 girls from across the state and was focused on the benefits of renewable energy with an emphasis on solar energy. The event featured in-class tutorials by a Technical Solar Manager, an essay competition, and live experiments with the Solar Training Kits they were gifted by Lagos Power Kids.
#SheInnovates - Project30for30
The goal of Project30for30 was to unearth the value that young girls can offer in STEM; to give girls who otherwise would not have had the opportunity and exposure a learning experience that sets the foundation for their lifelong STEM journey. This Bootcamp was sponsored by Mrs Tolu Owokade as a way to celebrate her 30th birthday
By partnering with Dhack Institute, this bootcamp covered a wider range of topics and specializations ranging from coding to robotics, animation and data analytics. Participants of this two-week long bootcamp left proud of themselves for acquiring new skills and excited about future opportunities in STEM they would be able to take advantage of.
Robotics and Renewable Energy Bootcamp
Statistically, ladies are even fewer in the Robotics and Renewable Energy industry than other aspects of STEM. Afro-Tech Girls in a bid to improve the statistics, held a Robotics and Renewable Energy Bootcamp for 30 girls
The girls were introduced to several topics throughout the first week to offer them the opportunity to study and be exposed to different skill areas.
Ms. Iretiola Adebayo-Olubi and Mr. Banji of FMVR taught Google digital skills and data science, respectively, while Mr Oluwasayo Babalola taught on MIT App development, Ms. Adaora Asiegbu of Afro-Tech Girls led the girls through a Google digital skills session with Made with Code as a focus, and Mr. Adeolu Owokade of Dhack Institute introduced the girls to Robotics and taught them how to fly a drone while Mr Deji Ishola taught web development and rapid prototyping
Following each session, the girls put what they had learned in class into practice.
The next week, the girls worked in groups of four on a project centered on a certain theme. The Dhack Institute assisted the Robotics team in developing a Robotic lawn mower with obstacle recognition and the capacity to go in straight lines, as well as an Autonomous Office Document Delivery Robot that reacts to different colors and goes to different office "cubicles."
These boot camps were made possible by leveraging on strategic partnerships.
ATG X IHS Design Thinking Summer Bootcamp
We are pleased to announce that this year, we are embarking on an ambitious feat - we will be hosting two bootcamps! One in Lagos State and another in Ogun State - our first event outside of Lagos! Our bootcamps this year will be sponsored by IHS Nigeria. The ATG X IHS Summer Design Thinking Bootcamp is a two-week long boot camp targeted at girls in senior secondary school.
The bootcamp will feature tutorials from a Design Thinking curriculum crafted by international experts in the fields and experiments on how to utilize Design Thinking in their daily lives.
The bootcamp will run from August 23rd-4th of September in Lagos state and August 30th-11th September in Ogun state. Each cohort will have 50 girls and will be curated by carefully screened Team Leads.
Preparations are in final stages and we cannot wait to share all that we have with participants in Lagos and Ogun States. Watch this space for more details.