As part of efforts to prepare children for the future, Nigerian educational technology companies have organised training for children on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) to rapidly improve their knowledge of technology.
[ad]
The companies, comprising 9ijakids, STEM METS, Edufun Technik Hub and SabiTeach, did the training during the third edition of STEAM funfest 2023 in Lagos with the theme ‘Empowering the Next Generation for the Future of Work.’
The aim was to equip Nigerian children with updated skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the 21st-century workforce as well as the rapidly growing world of technology.
Co-founder of 9ijakids, Titi Adewusi, said children need to acquire technological skills to aid national development, noting that building a better future for Nigeria should be a joint goal.
Adewusi said: “It is about letting them experience these skills hands-on. Some of these include robotics, Mathematics, animation and coding. We have a STEAM lab for them to learn these things.
“We want to give children the skills of the future because these skills can help in solving problems and critical thinking. When children have STEAM education, a lot of these skills can be built. We have experts here to tell the children about the skills of the future so that we can build the Nigeria of tomorrow that we want.
[ad]
“We have moved past the stage of cramming; technology now runs the world. We have eight labs where we will teach game development, animation, coding, science experiment, UI/UX design and coding, among others.”
In a keynote address, the Founder of Future Africa, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, said STEAM remains the skills needed to create solutions to problems, adding that they are not skills acquired to harm people.
“The future of our country lies in their hands; they have a special responsibility to the country because not only are they tomorrow’s consumers but they also have to be tomorrow’s producers as well and that means that the skills they are learning here they have to use with all sense of responsibility,” Aboyeji said.
Product Manager of Youth Segment, Access Bank, Mr. Omoyola Oladipupo, stated that technology is the future and needed to be leveraged to scale up.
“We have a summer boot camp for kids on robotics and drones, organised by the innovation arm of Access Bank. There, children can meet and brainstorm to come up with ideas that can revolutionise the industry,” he said.
[ad]
