40 girls graduate from ASA

The African Science Academy (ASA) has graduated 40 students from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related courses with a call to go and make their mark in the field.

The Founder of the ASA, Dr Tom Ilube, who made the call at the sixth graduation ceremony last Friday, said it was an opportunity for them to utilise their knowledge and make significant contributions in their respective fields.

“It is a time of extreme technological change.

There's so much going on in the world of technology that will influence everything”, he stated.

He noted that in the past, Africa was not ready for the internet and massive revolution and had to catch up.

“As the class of 2023, you are the generation who will take advantage of this opportunity and use it to transform your lives, to transform your countries, to transform Africa and to transform the world”, he said.

Mr Ilbue said, “we believe STEM education can unlock Africa’s potential.

Yet, many girls are actively discouraged from pursuing science in high school, assuming they complete their secondary education”.

Ceremony

He explained that the graduating class was the biggest class to have gone through the school and had the potential to open the door to a vast number of students.

“You will say we were here first and in doing that you have taken the first step on our ambitious future expansion plans”, he added.

“Our long-term plan is to build a campus so that we can have maybe 150 students and over the next decade a 1,000 students coming from all across Africa and going through the ASA,” Mr Ilbue said.

Nurture

The head teacher of the ASA, Gifty Ghansah, said the academy had nurtured a spirit of exploration and innovation and celebrated those accomplishments of the students who embarked on a transformative and challenging journey fueled by their passion for knowledge, curiosity and unwavering determination to make a difference.

“And through sheer grit, these young women have demonstrated that they are the future leaders of society and have showed that gender is no barrier to success”, she stated.

ASA

ASA was founded by the African Gifted Foundation, a UK based charity organisation in 2016 as a STEM-focused academy for gifted African girls from low-income backgrounds.

The academy began with 24 students from Cameroun, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Ghana.

Since then, the academy has grown to attract girls from 12 African countries, including Togo, Rwanda, Eswantini and South Africa.