FLOW gives support to Girls in ICT Day Hackathon

MORE THAN 800 girls across four Caribbean countries – Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and St Vincent and the Grenadines – came together for an immersive experience in technology in celebration of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Girls in ICT Day, on Thursday, April 26.

Locally, FLOW partnered with SheLeadsIT Consulting, Changemakers Development, and other sponsors to host more than 300 secondary- and tertiary-level female students for a hackathon hosted at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus. The hackathon provided an opportunity for high-school and tertiary-level students to get Sola Hines (third from left), senior director of legal services at FLOW, presents the second-place prize of $125,000, courtesy of the company to a team of students from Immaculate Conception High who participated in the Caribbean Girls Hackathon.

interactive and hands-on experience in the use of digital skills to solve social challenges.

Kayon Mitchell, director of corporate communications and stakeholder management, shares that while several technical roles are filled by women at FLOW and throughout the wider local telecommunications industry, there is still room for more.

“Regionally, the sector is marked by a pressing need for a wide range of ICT talents, and this means that highly qualified women in technical fields have significant opportunities available to them. Girls in ICT Day is an opportunity for us to present the career options in the telecommunications industry to female students each year, and as Jamaica’s leading fullservice telecommunications firm, we are able to provide real-life examples of fulfilling careers in ICT right here on Jamaican soil,” Mitchell highlights.

Students from Westwood High School in Trelawny emerged atop the secondary category, while a team of five from Northern Caribbean University took the main prize in the tertiary category. Prizes included cash, Google Home devices, and internships at FLOW.

Girls in ICT Day is an opportunity for us to present the career options in the telecommunications industry to female students each year, and as Jamaica’s leading full-service telecommunications firm, we are able to provide real-life examples of fulfilling careers in ICT right here on Jamaican soil.

CONTRIBUTED The winning tertiary team from Northern Caribbean University in the 2018 Caribbean Girls Hackathon with balloons signifying the $250,000 cash prize presented by the National Commercial Bank on April 26.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Students engage with Susanna O’Sullivan (left), senior director of IT at FLOW, and media mogul Marcia Forbes (left, back row), during the Caribbean Girls Hackathon hosted at the Mona Visitors’ Lodge, UWI. More than 200 female students from both...

Latoya Lawrence, regional marketing manager at FLOW, presents a token to a student of the Wolmer’s Trust High School for Girls on ICT Day. Lawrence was part of a team from the telecommunications firm, which visited the school to give advice on careers...