Lenovo, DUT teaches young girls to code, robotics

Lenovo South Africa has partnered with the Durban University of Technology to equip young learners with coding and robotic skills.

Lenovo, in conjunction with the university, has taken task to prepare young learners for the 4th industrial revolution.

Working with the information technology, department of the university Lenovo launches the Robogirl 2022 program to see over 120 learners from around 15 schools in grades 10 and 11 exposed to the concepts of coding and robotics.

At the end of the lesson will be a competition in the school which will allow the various teams to witness their peers’ innovation and the different approaches to similar task challenges.

Lenovo being a bursary sponsor at DUT for IT related courses plans to maintain it’s vision to provide smarter technology for all while empowering under represented communities with access to technology and STEM education.

The goal is to break the barrier to entry, especially for those from disadvantaged communities.

“Both in South Africa and indeed around the globe, men continue to outnumber women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, particularly technical fields such as engineering and computer science.

“Lenovo is extremely passionate about upskilling women and female learners in the technology arena and helping to bridge this gender gap. We believe the most innovative solutions can’t be created without diverse perspectives, and therefore we are investing in such programmes,” said Yugen Naidoo, Lenovo South Africa General Manager.

“At Lenovo, with programmes like Robogirl 2022 and others, we aim to play our part in helping to address this gender disparity, and let young girls and women see for themselves the possibilities of entering the IT space as a career and be empowered to enter the jobs of the future.

“We look forward to seeing the short-term and indeed longer-term positive results of our investment in Robogirl 2022 and wish the Durban University of Technology and all the learners on the program every success.” he said.

The launch of the program was attended by the Kwa-Zulu Natal MEC for Education, Ms Mbalenhle Cleopatra Frazer, with the Durban University of Technology represented by Prof. Keo Motaung, Prof. O Olugbara, Dr J Wing.

Also read: Disney Plus now available on PlayStation 5 consoles