Geek

A PROPOSAL TO HOSTTHE NIGERIA GEEK GIRLS COLLABORATIVE CAMP (GeGCoC) 2015 IN ABUJA PREPARED BYGLOBAL CENTRE FOR INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATION (iTEE) (www.i-tee.org)

GLOBAL CENTRE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATION (iTEE) (www.i-tee.org)PREAMBLEThe Nigeria Geek Girls Collaborative Camp(GeGCoC) is a week-long Information andCommunication Technology (ICT) camping event tobring together secondary school girls in Nigeria, withthe main objective of mentoring them, training themand improving their participation and involvement inInformation and Communication Technology (ICT)Profession. The event will feature successful femaleleaders in ICT to serve as role models and mentors tothese students. Detailed information about theprogramme is contained at www.computergeeky.orgINTRODUCTION & BACKGROUNDFemale interests in ICT have persistently been low. Less than one percent of secondaryschool girls still consider Computer as a career or tool for themselves in future despite thefact that Computer Science is one of the fastest growing fields in the world today, with aprojected 4.2 million jobs in the USA alone in 2020. Fewer girls and more boys are admittedinto undergraduate Computer Science yearly, leading to a serious decline in femaleparticipation. Most girls shy away from solving problems with computers; the field is maledominated thus making it to appear as if it is not for females. This trend has caused a growingconcern about how to improve girls’ involvement in this highly lucrative field.Recent findings have indicated lack of motivation and interests and mind-set as some of themajor factors militating against the choice of Computer Science as a profession, or its use asa problem-solving tool among girls. Consequently, there have been global efforts atimproving the interest and participation of girls and therefore increasing the number offemale professionals in Computer Science.As part of the global efforts in bridging the gender gap in ICT and making sure that Nigeria isat par with the rest of the world in this regard, the Global Center for Information TechnologyEmpowerment and Education proposes to organize the Nigerian Geek Girls CollaborativeCamp (GeGCoC) in Abuja in August 2015.ABOUT THE NIGERIAN GEEK GIRLS COLLABORATIVE CAMP (GEGCOC)GeGCoC is an ICT mentoring camp that brings together Nigerian Secondary School girls,with the main objective of improving their participation and involvement in ICT. The event isorganized by the Global Center for Information Technology empowerment and Education(iTEE) and is held during the long vacation in the month of August. The main objective ofthe camp will boost the participants’ confidence and encourage them to participate in ICT professions. This will be done by enabling them to create personal ICT projects after undergoing hands-on ICT training. Apart from being educative, the event is fun-filled and provides optimized learning experience that is free of boredom in an organized manner. Highlights of the camp include: 1. Tour of notable ICT centres 2. Video games design and development 3. Creating cartoons and animationProposal to Host The Nigeria Geek Girls Collaborative Camp Page |2(Gegcoc) 2015 At Abuja

GLOBAL CENTRE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATION (iTEE) (www.i-tee.org)4. Mobile apps development5. digital music, video and photo editing6. CBT for personalized learning7. Creating websites and blogs8. ICT Geek Girl of the year Competition9. Souvenirs, gifts and awards10. Regular mentoring and featured talk from accomplished female role modelsIn order to reach out to the best talents among our girls, notwithstanding their social-economic background, we ensure that the event is completely free for all participants bydepending on donations from our partners, stakeholders, supporting individuals andOrganizations. GeGCoC 2014 The Nigeria Geek Girls Collaborative Camp (GeGCoC) 2014 took place at University of Ibadan, Ibadan from 11th to 17th August 2014. The camp featured accomplished female ICT leaders, including Professor Adenike Ososfisan (first female Professor of Computer Science in Sub-Saharan Africa) and Alhaja Sekinat Yusuf (The president/Council Chairman of Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria). Approximately 100 girls, 5 female teachers and 20facilitators/trainers attended the camp. Evaluation of the camp activities indicated significantincrease in participants’ motivation and knowledge acquisition. Parents, and stakeholdershave continually testified of the great positive impact the camp had on the girls. Videodocumentary and other documentation of the camp activities can be provided on demand. Thefirst of its kind in Nigeria, the camp was generously funded by Institute of InternationalEducation (IIE) Women Enhancing Technology (WeTech) in August 2014, having seen itsprospects and impact. (WeTech) is a 2013 Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Actionthat was launched by former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. More information about thegrant is available at http://www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Press-Center/Press-Releases/2014/2014-05-20-WeTech-Africa-Seed-Grants. Photos, videos and camp report forGeGCoC 2014 are contained in the project website, www.computergeeky.org and theFacebook page, https://www.facebook.com/computergeekyclub ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS The Global Center for Information Technology Empowerment and Education (iTEE) consists of a team of seasoned Computer Science professionals and dedicated partners, with the aim of helping Africa find her place in global technological advancements, by investing in the development of her greatest resource: the people. Consequently, iTEE provides professional and developmental prospects and access to knowledge and information through the use of computer and related technologies.Full profile of iTEE is available at www.i-tee.orgProposal to Host The Nigeria Geek Girls Collaborative Camp Page |3(Gegcoc) 2015 At Abuja

GLOBAL CENTRE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATION (iTEE) (www.i-tee.org)THE CAMP DIRECTOR/FACILITATORDr. Yetunde Folajimi is a Lecturer ofComputer Science at University of Ibadan andthe Director of Global Centre for InformationTechnology Empowerment and Education.With specialization in Artificial Intelligence, asignificant proportion of her research isdevoted to application of computer games ande-learning technology for health and safetyeducation, adult education, Child Education,youth empowerment and womenempowerment.Dr. Folajimi is a recipient of the John D. andCatherine T. MacArthur Award (2009), theCommonwealth Professional Fellowship award (2012) and the Institute of InternationalEducation (IIE) Women Enhancing Technology (WeTech) Award (twice in 2014). She was aResearch Scholar at the Laboratory for Computational Intelligence, University of BritishColumbia, Vancouver, BC Canada (2009) and Personalized Adaptive Webs Laboratory,University of Pittsburgh, PA USA (2010). She was also a Research Fellow at the Center forComputational Intelligence, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK (2012). She has deliveredpapers at various national, international and regional conferences/workshops and events;having over 30 referred publications to her credit.Dr. Folajimi is a Fellow of British Computer Society (BCS) and also belongs to manynational and international Organizations such as Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), ComputerProfessionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Nigeria Women in InformationTechnology (NiWIIT), Association of Computer Machinery (ACM), Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Association of Learning Technology (ALT) and AmericanAssociation of Computing in Education (AACE). She actively participated as an Executive ofNigeria Computer Society (Ex-Officio) from 2007 to 2011 and served as a Council Memberof Computer Professionals Registration council of Nigeria (CPN) in 2011. She has served inthe conference committee of NCS for several years. She was a Programme Committeemember of 2012 international conference of the Association for Learning Technology (ALT-C 2012) and currently a member of ALT Membership Services Committee. She is also theinternational liaison for the International Conference on e-Commerce, e- Administration, e-Society, and e-Education (e-CASE).By leveraging on her international experience, expertise and connections, Dr. Folajimi isinvolved in coordinating various activities to increase the interests and participation of women, girls, children and youths in Computer science such as Nigeria Geek Girls Camp (www.computergeeky.org), Nigeria girls and women hackathon (www.computergeeky.org/nigathon.html), Computer whiz kids day out (http://www.i- tee.org/computer-whiz-kids.html). She has participated in several international workshops and conferences and has conducted a number of workshops on Technology empowered Education in Nigeria and abroad.Proposal to Host The Nigeria Geek Girls Collaborative Camp Page |4(Gegcoc) 2015 At Abuja

GLOBAL CENTRE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATION (iTEE) (www.i-tee.org)THE PROPOSED GeGCoC 2015 AT ABUJABased on the past success story and huge positive impact of GeGCoC 2014, and in mycapacity as the Director of Global Center for Information Technology Empowerment andEducation, it is my pleasure to propose a two-week camp for 100 female secondary schoolstudents in Abuja, to be hosted during in August 2015. Based on your preference, the campwill be organized as either DAY-NIGHT CAMP (whereby participants reside in the camphostels throughout the two-week camping period) or DAY-ONLY CAMP (wherebyparticipants attend the camp daily form their homes throughout).PRAYERSIt is pertinent to note that in such ICT training and mentoring camp as described in thisproposal, the role of your Organization cannot be overemphasized. I therefore write on behalfof Global Centre for Information Technology Empowerment and Education and the Partners,to solicit your invaluable collaboration and sponsorship towards the success of this event. Thetotal budget for DAY-ONLY camp option is N8,866,500 while the total budget for the DAY-NIGHT camp option is N11,076,500 as indicated in the attached documents. Your financialcontributions and other support shall be acknowledged in all project-related activitiesincluding printed and electronic materials and on the event websites and social media.It will be my pleasure to discuss with you regarding further clarification that your Office mayrequire.I look forward to a favorable response to this request.Yours faithfully,Dr. Yetunde Folajimi FBCS (iTEE Director)Project CoordinatorDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of IbadanIbadanPhone: +2348056648530Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]:http://sci.ui.edu.ng/YOFolajimihttp://teaching.yfolajimi.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/yetundeofolajimiwww.yfolajimi.comwww.i-tee.orgwww.computergeeky.orghttps://twitter.com/yetty123https://www.facebook.com/yetunde.folajimiProposal to Host The Nigeria Geek Girls Collaborative Camp Page |5(Gegcoc) 2015 At Abuja