CEGIST ORGANIZES OUTREACH TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS

As part of its agenda to fulfil its vision and mandate, the Centre for Gender Issues in Science and Technology (CEGIST) of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) has intensified sensitization Seminar to encourage and stimulate the interest of the girl child in science and technology. The FUTA CEGIST team paid a working visit to Ebun Ogunyimika Comprehensive High School, Atosin Idanre, Ondo State on Thursday, 13th February, 2020 and African Church Comprehensive High School, Alagbaka, Akure, on 19th January, 2020 with a message of encouragement to enhance gender equality in science and technology through the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education among girls in secondary schools The seminar titled: “STEM: Where are the girls?” Was designed to stimulate the interest of the Girls in STEM Education; make the students to realize the great loss in not fostering career pursuit in STEM related fields; encourage the students to eliminate self-selection bias in life career choice; and build the students’ confidence and willingness to engage in STEM subjects.

CEGIST Associate Director, Dr. (Mrs.) O. O. Omosowone, presented the power-point Seminar Presentation with the title, “STEM: Where are the girls?” The title was broken down to the following subtitles Who is the girl child, Gender inequality What is STEM education? Why is the STEM education important? Gender gap in STEM related fields. Reasons why the girl child should participate in STEM and Myths to be discarded by girl child in career pursuit.

Girls were challenged by showing them some Nigerian teen girls who made the country proud by their innovations these were:  

1. Four Nigerian teenage girls from of Doregos Private Academy, Ipaja, in Lagos that invented a urine-powered generator which was exhibited at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in Phoenix, USA
2. ii. Five school girls from Regina Pacies Secondary School Onitsha that won the Gold Medal in the World Technovation Challenge in the Silicon Valley, San Francisco, USA. They won the challenge by inventing a mobile application called the FD-Detector which they developed to help tackle the Challenge of fake pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.
3. Examples of girls from other African countries making world better with the knowledge of STEM were also cited such as: Three St. Thomas Girls Secondary school in Kilifi, Kenya, that invented Improvised Explosive Detector (IED) vehicle capable of detecting IEDs lying 5.6Km away.
4. The girls were also shown different pictures of girls that won $2,000,000 in US during the Tech Point show, Energy & Technology in Nigeria, Innovative Recycle Contest, and the Edtech Fair Brace (Accelerating Innovation). Also, pictures of the first female mechanic in Nigeria; Lady Sandra Aguebor were also displayed to challenge the girls

At the end of the programme, staff of the schools, on behalf of the management and the entire students, expressed their gratitude to CEGIST and FUTA at large, for such a laudable initiative designed enlightenment, to challenge and encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM related fields. The girls also promised they won’t allow the vision to die nor the lessons learnt be in vain as they would pick up careers in different STEM related fields. The CEGIST/FUTA team that went for the programme were:

1. Dr. (Mrs.) O. O. Omosowone – Associate Director, CEGIST
2. Mrs. D. T. Akintokunbo
3. Mrs. C. T. Adubuola
4. Mr. Adeniyi Adefabi
5. Miss Endurance Ekpo