The Local Engagement Coordinator (LEC) for TechGirls, Nigeria, Dr. Temiloluwa Adesina, said the programme is building a crop of talent hub among young people in Nigeria and across the globe.
Adesina said this on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, after the recently concluded three-week TechGirls programme that held in the U.S.
She recalled that three teenage Nigerian girls were part of the 128 young women selected from 38 countries around the world.
The girls are Izzatu Hassan, Treasure Joeking, both from the FCT and Uche Alina, from Abia.
According to Adesina, TechGirls is a U.S.-based summer exchange programme designed to empower teenage girls ages 15 to 17 from USA and selected countries around the world to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The programme took the girls through hands-on skills development, exposure to mentors and visit to places of notable significance in the U.S.
“Programmes like this have its way of impacting the economy of the nation.
“By increasing the number of women in technology, especially in STEM, Nigeria can boost its economy through innovation and entrepreneurship with a more diverse workforce.
“It helps reduce gender inequality by promoting the number of women in tech, especially in male dominated field.
“It encourages girls to pursue tech careers, expanding Nigeria’s talent hub, ensuring the country can meet the growing demand of tech professionals,” she said.
Other benefits of the programme she said included, social impact, adding that the girls that had been empowered would contribute to the development of their communities and improve quality of life in the country.
According to her, the programme has equipped the girls with essential coding and programming solving skills, making them competitive in the global job market.
She said that the future of the country was dependent on the young ones, hence the need to foster a generation of innovators that would lead technology and stand global competitiveness.
One of the girls, Alina, said the experience developed her confidence and she had the opportunity to learn some life enhancing skills.
“I gained more confidence with each passing day, got the opportunity to learn different skills like communication, problem solving, movie making, leadership, coding and programming skills, and networked with other girls.
“I will like other girls to go for this programme and not hold back, because the world is tending towards technology where some people believe it is a men affair.
“It is time we challenge ourselves and move beyond this assertion,’’ Uche said.
She urged the government to create more awareness of like programmes, adding that the world was in the era of technological revolution where creativity met imagination.
TechGirls programme is an initiative of, and funded by the U. S. Department of Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, and implemented by Legacy International, a U.S.-based organisation.
NAN reports that the girls were part of the 128 young women from 38 countries and territories around the world after a rigorous process of selection.
They departed the country on July 10 and returned on August 7. (NAN)
