The Girls in ICT Day was definitely a highlight of the year. Held at Canterbury College, over 80 grade 5 and 6 students arrived on buses from across the Logan region and stepped in to a day full of hearing from inspiring guest speakers, completing challenging workshop activities, and exploring their future workforces. The program was made possible through our amazing industry partners including the City of Logan, Canterbury College, ACS, Commonwealth Bank, Data#3, and Go1.
The day was kicked off by hearing from five women who work in very different technology roles at Go1 including product design, software development and content support. They shared their academic stories and advice for their younger selves, and it was inspiring for students to have their minds opened up to the types of careers that exist in the technology world. Then, the students were presented with their challenge for the day: to ideate a technological solution in their local community for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games. After getting some inspiration from the kinds of technology innovations that were utilised in different Olympic Games around the world, the students were asked to brainstorm how emerging technology could be used to enhance the experience of either athletes, visitors or the local community through a design sprint. Later in the day, the students were given the opportunity to expand on their key ideas and explore their users needs and wants, before finally pitching their ideas and designs to other groups.
Some other highlights of the day included debating on ethical topics like the human rights of robots, social credit scores and gene editing technology, and the students loved sharing their opinions and reasons. There was also the Future of Work Panel Discussion with key speakers who shared what a day in the life of their role looks like, what kinds of opportunities their job entails, and what they are excited about looking into the next 10-20 years. And a standout during the final session of the day was when we were joined by Pauline Fentaui, the CEO of River City Labs, for a fireside chat with a member of the BOP team discussing how she built her own creative career in the digital space.
The Girls in ICT Day was truly action-packed, and it was a great program for all students to hear from women who are paving the way in the digital space in Australia. After receiving very positive feedback from the students, teachers, speakers and industry partners, we are looking forward to an even more amazing Girls in ICT Day in 2023!
To find out more about how you could host a similar program at your school, make sure to Contact Us!