Fifty female secondary school students have developed technology-based solutions in artificial intelligence (AI), data analysis, machine learning and other digital fields after a five-day boot camp in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The Project Team Lead, Tech Girls Club, South-South Zone, Dr Martha Musa, said the participants were trained in AI, data science, Python programming, machine learning and data analysis during the programme sponsored by NeurIPS Foundation and organised by Girls Techies Humanitarian Initiative.
Musa, who is also Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Port Harcourt, said the students developed solutions covering healthcare, environmental waste management, pocket-money management and library systems. She said their performance demonstrated that girls could excel in technology when given the right opportunities and support.
An Associate Professor of Computer Science at UNIPORT, Dr Lord Ochei, called for stronger government intervention to increase girls’ participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). He advocated scholarships, targeted funding and other measures to address social and economic barriers limiting female participation in technology.
The organisers said they would continue mentoring the participants through their schools and appealed for more funding to sustain and expand the programme. Precious Ndem-Orji of Royal Girls Academy, who emerged overall best, said the training had strengthened her interest in technology and left her feeling empowered.
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