STEM Education for African Girls

Participants at the 2017 Accra STEM Fall Camp

The Visiola Foundation Holds STEM Fall Camp in Accra

The Accra Holiday STEM Camp for teenage girls was a 5-day non-residential event that introduced students to broad principles of computer programming, mobile app development, and robotics. The camp was held at McCarthy Hill School from December 11 -15, 2017. The camp focused on the use and applications of robotics in real life scenarios and exposed the girls to mobile application development. They were tasked to use robotics and mobile technology to solve particular assignments that were modelled after real life experiences and challenges. During the camp, students developed confidence in their ability to apply programming and science techniques to solving problems in a broad range of fields.

The Holiday Camp was designed to pique the interest of girls in secondary schools in the STEM fields. Students learned valuable skills in critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork as they were taught to view the world through the lens of STEM subjects. They were exposed to applied science, mathematics and engineering and were actively engaged in using concepts learnt in school to develop prototypes of their projects. Furthermore, the daily sessions with mentors also helped to build their confidence and gave them practical tips on how to be successful in life. Mentors at the Accra Holiday Camp included Mrs. Lade Araba (Co-Founder, The Visiola Foundation), Regina Honu (Founder, Soronko Academy) and Rasheeda Yehuza (Founder, Nasara Tech)