Virtual Technology Innovation Challenge held for schoolgirls

ATC Ghana, in collaboration with Ghana Code Club, held a Virtual Technology Innovation Challenge for basic schoolgirls to mark this year’s International Telecommunications Union’s Girls in ICT Day on 27th April, 2023.

The schoolgirls from the Ashanti, Western, Western North and Eastern Regions gathered at ATC Ghana’s Digital Communities learning centres to share their innovative ideas virtually with ATC Ghana, Ghana Code employees and senior executives who had connected from ATC Ghana offices in Accra.

The all-girls teams presented solutions to everyday life issues in the form of video games, including the use of technology in areas such as drone rescuing of victims during an earthquake, fish feeding and plant-watering in a farm, separating waste for effective waste management, and an interactive website showcasing the regions of Ghana.

In a short opening remark, Yahaya Yunusa, ATC Ghana’s Chief Executive Officer expressed excitement for another year of the Girls in ICT programme, a key component of ATC Ghana’s sustainability and social impact initiatives. He expressed hope that the girls in the programme will continue to follow the STEM path through their education and take up careers in ICT.

As the leading telecommunications infrastructure provider in the country, ATC Ghana’s commitment is to drive the development of highly skilled professionals for Ghana’s telecommunications industry as well as support a digitally driven socio-economic life in line with its sustainability commitment. This year’s theme of International Girls in ICT Day, ‘Digital Skills for Life’, aligns perfectly with ATC Ghana’s vision.

It is this vision that drives the company’s flagship projects, Digital Communities and Girls in ICT programmes, which are geared toward piquing the interest of pupils in ICT-related programmes at an early age and directing them toward careers in the ICT field.

The Digital Communities, computerequipped learning centres that utilise uninterrupted power supply and broadband connection from tower sites, are usually located close to basic schools to ensure easy access to aid teaching and learning.

With 10 centres so far in various parts of the country and over 5,000 beneficiaries, ATC plans to build an additional 10 in 2023 and many more in the years to follow. Coupled with ATC Ghana’s partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation since 2018, it has supported and continues to support the ministry’s month-long training and mentorship for schoolgirls as part of Girls in ICT Day. The company hopes to further open the digital space to more people, including school children in unserved and underserved areas.

At the end of the challenge, some of the company’s female ICT and engineering staff, as well as female senior executives took turns to encourage the schoolgirls to continue to focus on their studies in ICT and its related programmes, highlighting the key role they play and the associated opportunities in the world today. The schoolgirls were presented with certificates.