IIPGH and UENR Celebrate International Girls in ICT Day at SUSEC

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IIPGH and UENR Celebrate International Girls in ICT Day at SUSEC

The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH) in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science and Informatics at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) have celebrated this year’s ITU international day for Girls in ICT at the Sunyani Senior High School (SUSEC), Sunyani, the Bono regional capital. The theme for the 2019 event was “Expand Horizon, Change Attitude”. The participants were over 300 students (only girls) drawn from SHS1 and SHS2.

The chairperson for the occasion, Mr. Oppong Ansu, the Assistant Headmaster – academics of SUSEC, delivering an open address stated that, digitization is essential in the growth of the economy of every nation so the participants must position themselves to embrace the use of technology and then focus on acquiring the right skill in ICT to help the nation to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Mr. Owusu Nyarko-Boateng, the chairman of IIPGH – BA Chapter, who is also a lecturer at the department of computer science and informatics, UENR, delivered the keynote address. In his speech, Mr. Owusu advised the participants not to shy away from IT and other technologically related disciplines, because technology has become the engine of growth in any industrialized nation. He encouraged the participants to develop a strong passion for pursuing ICT programs. Mr. Owusu further stated that the passion the participants develop would drive them to learn or improve their skill in ICT, irrespective of the course they are studying at the SHS level. In addition, the keynote speaker said that the few women in the IT sector are performing exceptionally well and they have established a good name for themselves.

A guest speaker, Mrs. Vivian Akoto Agyepong, a member of IIPGH and a lecturer at the Department of Computer Science and Informatics, UENR, reiterated that there is the need for the participants to play a pivotal role in achieving SDGs through the use technology.

Another guest speaker Mrs. Bawah Faiza, a member of IIPGH and a lecturer at the Department of Computer Science and Informatics, UENR, encouraged the participants to consider choosing computer science and I. T, which lays a strong foundation in their career development in ICT.

Mr. Elvis Agyepong, the secretary of IIPGH, BA Chapter, who was the moderator for the occasion encouraged the participants to demystify the notion that ICT is a profession for only boys.

Mr. Danny Daniels moderated the question and answer session, and led the participants in a group discussion on how to acquire the right skill set to meet the expectations of the employer.

The chairperson in his closing remarks asked the participant to be serious with their studies if they really aspire to excel in the field of IT, as other women in technology have exceptionally distinguished themselves.