Strathmore University hosted the 2019 Girls in ICT Fair on April 24 in the Strathmore main auditorium. The event was organized by FemTechies and Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) so as to commemorate the International Girls in ICT Day which is celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of April.

The commemoration also aimed at creating awareness of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects as well as to encourage girls to take up STEM-related courses. Speaking on the objective of the Girls in ICT Fair, Dr. Joseph Sevilla, the Director of  at iLabAfrica, said, “The Girls in ICT fair is geared towards awareness: we would like you to see the opportunities that are there in tech. Young girls have to get introduced to tech as early as possible.”

The event involved girls from different high schools in Kenya who interacted with experts on block chain, cyber security, Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. Among the speakers in the event were, Dr. Beatrice Njeru, lecturer at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dorcas Muthoni-software engineer, Leonard Mabele, an engineer and a programmer leading research and development on IoT, and Michael Muthiga, Chief Executive Officer at Fatboy Animations.

Child online safety

Speaking on child online safety, Mwende Njiriani, Telecommunications Engineer at CA said, “There are things about the internet that are not entirely positive. We at CA would like to keep you safe.”

Linda Kwamboka, a Strathmore alumna, who pursued a Bachelor of Business Information Technology degree, was also among the speakers. She is a director at M-Farm Limited, a company that offers information to farmers about prices and other agricultural aspects via mobile (SMS) and web based system. M-Farm also provides a collaborative platform for farmers to interact with cooperatives, farm input suppliers and agro-vet stores. It also connects them with experts who provide farmers with specialist information. “Technology is an enabler. I am using it to solve a problem,” said Linda.

FemTechies stands for Female Techies and is driven by young, energetic, passionate female leaders and techies from @iLabAfrica. FemTechies is dedicated towards connecting and empowering the next generation of women leaders in information technology through mentorship and the development of digital skills.

 

This article was written by Odhiambo Obonyo. 

 

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