Akilah Students Inspire Young Girls to Pursue Careers in Tech
Seven Akilah students joined this year’s TechKobwa camp, a one-week technology camp for girls from all over Rwanda, as mentors and role models to young girls interested in technology.
“You need to do research. Know your material and be confident — and don’t be afraid of eye contact with your audience,” says Evra Grace Iwacu, a final-year student in Akilah’s Information Systems Diploma program. It’s day three of TechKobwa, a technology camp for secondary school girls from across Rwanda, and Evra is giving a session on public speaking skills to a room full of attentive girls. She’s wearing a T-shirt with ‘We Love Nerds’ written across it. The statement captures the essence of TechKobwa: making technology fun, cool, and attractive to young girls in Rwanda.
Evra Grace Iwacu, a final-year student in Akilah’s Information Systems Diploma program, mentored secondary school girls at TechKobwa.
Mentoring younger sisters
Evra and six other Akilah students have joined TechKobwa to mentor 54 girls from 10 different secondary schools. The girls have traveled to the lakeside city of Kibuye for the weeklong camp, which packs in technology training, leadership sessions, teamwork, and fun. Five of the Akilah students at TechKobwa study Information Systems and were excited to share their own knowledge with the campers.
“As Information Systems students, this camp is a great opportunity for us to share what we have learned with our younger sisters. We want to encourage them to pursue technology and show them that girls are just as capable as boys. Most of the girls come from rural areas, and they normally don’t have a chance to gain practical skills within technology. We want to empower these girls so they can become the ones creating solutions for themselves and society through technology,” explains Ange Wibabara, a final-year Information Systems at Akilah.
Five of the seven Akilah students who volunteered for TechKobwa study Information Systems.
Hearing from women already in the ICT field proved particularly inspiring for the young campers, according to Josephine Kabambi, the Director of TechKobwa.
“The students from Akilah act as role models and mentors to these girls, and they are all doing an amazing job. These are girls already pursuing ICT, and at the same time, they’re very confident and such good public speakers. It really makes an impact for these girls to be taught these things by other girls,” Josephine says.
During TechKobwa girls gain familiarity with technology skills as well as life skills.
Gaining practical skills
This year’s TechKobwa is the sixth of its kind and is organized by Peace Corps in collaboration with Akilah, the Ministry of ICT, Rwanda’s Integrated Polytechnic Regional Center, Michigan State University, and Girls in ICT Rwanda.
Josephine and her team aim to show young girls that careers in ICT are within their reach.
“We want to get girls interested in ICT, both educationally and professionally. Women can play an important role in society through ICT, and with this camp we want to empower young girls and give them the first introduction to the skills they need to participate actively in the economy though ICT,” Josephine explains.
During the camp, the girls gain familiarity with technology skills, such as typing, computer literacy, social media, Google Drive, and troubleshooting, as well as general life skills and competencies, including goal-setting, public speaking, growth mindset training, career support, and leadership skills.
“We want the girls to see themselves having careers in ICT and to go back to their communities and inspire others to do the same, for instance, by starting ICT clubs in their schools,” Josephine adds.
Josephine Kabambi, center, is the director of TechKobwa.
Secondary schools recommend students for the program based on their interests and ICT skills.
“It is a nice opportunity for us as girls to meet and learn about ICT together. Before this camp, I didn’t believe I could do things in technology, but now I’ve gained a lot of self-confidence, and I’ve seen that I can do it. Now, I want to do programming — I like it a lot,” says Christine Nishimwe, a senior-five student from Rwamagana in Rwanda’s Eastern Province.
Fridaus Umugwaneza also traveled from the Eastern Province to join the camp and explains that she especially liked the session led by an Akilah student about setting goals and achieving them.
“I have gained confidence here, and when I come back to my school, I want to teach my classmates the things I have learned,” Fridaus says.
The same goes for Christine: “We are learning here that we are able to do the same things as boys — we can even compete with them. Back in my school, I want to encourage other girls to be confident and pursue technology. The Akilah students helped us a lot. I really love how they are teaching us and being around us. They are inspiring us,” Christine says.
The feeling of being inspired is clearly mutual. Babra Mulinda, who studies Information Systems at Akilah, is a mentor for Christine and Fridaus. She says her experience at TechKobwa makes her want to work even harder.
“When I see these girls, I feel like they can reach even further than me if they get the chance. It reminds me that I have a lot to achieve, and I need to keep working hard to inspire them. We are still few girls in ICT, and we need to make sure that we encourage young girls to get involved. Girls often need a bit more encouragement to join tech — but just wait and see, in a few years to come, girls will be very empowered in this field,” Babra says with pride in her voice.
Fellow Akilah student Ange Wibabara agrees: “We want to motivate the girls to be smart and empowered. If you can express yourself confidently, nobody will take you for granted because you are empowered. I think a lot of these girls could be future Akilah students,” she says.