The Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation in partnership with Huawei Technologies (Ghana) climaxed the maiden residential module ICT training for female tertiary students as part of its Girls in ICT Initiative.
The training took female tertiary students through Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, and Scratch (Game &Dialogue).
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said “This module has been incorporated into the Girls-In-ICT Initiative and going forward will become one of the prominent features of the initiative.”
Ms. Owusu-Ekuful added: “This training is aimed at giving you an exposure that opens to you, the world of possibilities through ICT. The ICT sector demands the full involvement of enterprising ladies occupying positions that will enable them to impact society. The Ministry will continue to pursue innovative ways of bridging the digital gender divide as fast as we can.”
Facilitators from Huawei took you through concepts such as Deep Learning, Machine Learning, and Cloud. The National Cyber Security Centre also facilitated a presentation on Cyber Security and Cyber Hygiene which is very critical especially knowing that we do everything on our phones and also surf the internet.
“The Scratch (Game &Dialogue) training is very practical and I encourage you to practice more to perfect it. Some of these courses are offered for several weeks however it has been sandwiched for you in two weeks,” Ms. Owusu-Ekuful said.
“We must push ourselves strategically as ladies to be able to compete effectively in this ‘male dominated’ sector to assume our place as co-equals with our male counterparts. It is my fervent belief that you will continue to practice what has been taught you and also aspire to distinguish yourselves.”
She said, “This training workshop is timely and couldn’t have taken place at a better time than this, right after training a thousand girls between the ages of 10 and 16 from upper primary to JSS 2 in the Western North.”
In the Business competition, students pitched AI projects such as Soil Fertility and Seed Viability Tester; Pest & Crop Diseases Control; Smart Irrigation; Unihealth; Digi Parl
“This is just the maiden training we have provided for the tertiary level. We aware very much aware that the demand at the tertiary level is just as high. We, therefore, intend to go on a larger scale going forward as we obtain more funding,” the minister said.
The Director of Public Relations at Huawei Ghana Office, Ms. Jennie Zhou said, “this training has been successful and impactful as we all saw how our young ladies from various disciplines put together their ideas to compete on one of the high demand courses in the tech space, Artificial Intelligence.”
She added: “Your ideas were unique and impressive, that is why most of you will be getting rewards before we leave here today. We expect you to be ambassadors of ICT as the Hon. Minister of Communications and Digitalization said, and let others benefit from the seed we have sown in you.”
“This is just the beginning of the journey for you, i believe this training will open you up to opportunities and make you one of the best in the industry as you step out to develop upon what you have studied. The future is not far from now, make the best of every opportunity that comes your way, be motivated to do more, and learn to improve upon yourselves,” Ms. Zhou said.
