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NGO Trains 204 Africans On IT
An NGO, Working to Advance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in African Women (WAAW) Foundation says 27 African girls have so far benefited from its scholarship since inception.
The U.S.-based WAAW, which began operation in Nigeria since 2007 has also sponsored the training of 110 teachers and 67 technology entrepreneurs in Africa.
The Foundation’s Programme Support Associate Mrs Sefunmi Obayan, said this in an interview with newsmen as part of the activities marking its 10th anniversary in Abuja on Wednesday.
Obayan said that the foundation facilitated the training as way of ensuring that girls in Nigeria and Africa key into Information Technology (IT).
“WAAW Foundation is now 10 years. So far, we have been able to award scholarships to 27 girls in Africa, we’ve given scholarships to girls in Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria and other countries.
“We have also trained 67 technology entrepreneurs from the 36 states of the federation.
“We started our teaching training in 2016 and we have trained 110 teachers, we have opened STEM chapters in universities and secondary schools across Nigeria and Africa,” Obayan said.
She, however, said that the foundation was engaging in training more teachers, technology entrepreneurs through its she Hacks Africa programme.
“Our teacher training vision is to train 1,000 science teachers and our S/He Hack Africa is envisioned to reach 2,000 technology entrepreneurs in five years.
“We want to diffuse the education sector with much STEM engagement because we want the teachers to impact the students we are unable to reach.
“We want to expose them to the world of technology like never before,” she said.
According to her, the foundation is training girls on simple IT skills and also ensures they are not stereotyped into believing that engaging in IT is difficult.
She said that it was the desire of the foundation to see more women in the IT sector and encourage them to reach their limelight in innovation.
WAAW Foundation is an organisation with the mission to empower girls in Africa by increasing the number of girls educated in STEM fields and to encourage their engagement in technology innovation to benefit Africa.
Ict/Telecom
Nigeria Set To Host International Conference On Biotechnology
The Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof Abdullahi Mustapha, has disclosed that Nigeria will be hosting International Conference on Biotechnology in June.
Mustapha, who made the disclosure recently in an interview with The Tide’s source in Abuja, said the conference would take place in June, adding that the agency was determined to introduce new things for the benefit of Nigerians.
“That is why we are organising this international conference where people across the globe will showcase what they are doing in their various countries in biotechnology. NABDA will also showcase what we are doing and had been doing to engage all our people in the country”, he said.
According to him, the conference would offer a platform where industries, private organisations, universities and others would have the opportunity to showcase their works.
The Director-General said the conference would be tailored around environment, industry, agriculture, genomics and bioinformatics as well as health.
Mustapha disclosed that he had inaugurated a committee toward organising the conference, adding that it had started work.
“The Nigerian policy on biotechnology was prepared in 2000, and I have seen that its about time to effect a change.
“This is imperative because the world is moving fast from what was regarded as the norm to a certain level of precision and accuracy in terms of investigations and deliverables”, he added.
He continued that Nigeria could meet up with advanced countries’ biotechnology as it could boast of scientists and experts.
“Whatever document we are going to produce is going to look at Nigeria and its projects in the next five to 20 years. This policy is what will drive Nigeria’s biotechnology to success”, he said.
Ict/Telecom
Expert Tasks Female Journalists On Content Creation
A digital media expert, Mr. Chimodo Paul, has charged female journalists in Rivers State to generate good contents in order to carve a niche for themselves in journalism.
He gave the charge at a one-day capacity building workshop held last Thursday, at the NUJ Press Center, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
The workshop, tagged, “Maximizing New Media Platforms: Upscaling Digital, Entrepreneur Skills of Journalists”, was organised by the Step-up for Women in Journalism Initiative (SWIJ), with support from Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Rivers State Council.
Paul urged the women to upscale their digital skills in order to enable them improve their career prospects and earning potentials.
He expressed dismay that ego had prevented some veteran journalists from upscaling their digital skills, which, he said, had deprived them from reaching their full potentials and becoming visible in the present new media era.
He also urged those stucked in old fashion media to start maximizing the social media tools.
The women was further challenged to invest in themselves by acquiring good digital gadgets, subscribe to online trainings, sponsor their good contents on social media platforms.
“Most journalists do not know how to maximize the new media platforms yet. Ego and pride is not allowing them to learn digital tools. This is the major reason they are where they are and it’s not helping to build and improve professional competence in this new media era”, he said.
He insisted that journalists must identify the social media tools that aligns with their line of job and build presence on it to gain from opportunities that abound from such tools.
“Social media has made it easier for journalists to collaborate on stories with other journalists, photographers, and videographers. Collaborations can help journalists reach a wider audience, tell more complex stories”, he stated.
Ict/Telecom
Expert Wants Telcos To Prioritise Improved QoS
A Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy Advisor, Mr. Jide Awe, has urged telecommunication operators to give priority to improving Quality of Services (QoS).
Awe, who is also the Founder of Jidaw.com, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos State, recently.
He said it was necessary to improve the current poor QoS using strategic investment in infrastructure to support current and future needs.
Awe said the future needs included increased number of users and increased traffic volumes of transactions among others.
“Customer journey has evolved significantly over the years, largely influenced by the advancements in telecommunications technology.
“Customers now expect seamless and uninterrupted connectivity across multiple touchpoints, be it through their smartphones, laptops, or Internet of Things (IoT) devices”, he said.
Awe also noted that the telecoms industry was plagued with right-of-way charges, multiple taxation, and insecurity of telecoms infrastructure.
According to him, addressing these challenges is essential for consumer protection to ensure QoS standards are met, and that consumers receive the promised level of service quality.
The policy advisor added that solving the issues would also help in promoting affordable broadband services.
On the role of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) as a regulator, he said the NCC needed to adopt an innovative, supportive, and visionary regulation approach that appreciated the importance of innovation and expansion.
“As new technologies continue to emerge, regulation cannot afford to be static. NCC should inculcate a spirit of innovation and growth in the sector.
“Innovative regulation helps to cultivate an environment that attracts investment to propel sectoral growth. Investor-friendly initiatives, simplification of regulations, strategic and disruptive thinking/approaches are crucial”, he said.
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