On the last day of WiSci, four campers stepped up before a crowded auditorium at the Namibia University of Science and Technology. They had spent days brainstorming and were now ready to present their remarkable new invention: Flat Heels, a shoe design that converts from high heels to flats with the press of a button.
Flat Heels was among the many innovative final projects that campers presented at the end of the WiSci Girls STEAM Camp. After two weeks of learning how to code, build autonomous robots, perform CPR, and more, the girls teamed up to use their new skills to solve problems through entrepreneurship. In just a matter of days, the teams developed prototypes for inventions from Flat Heels to a backpack so lightweight that it never strains the back of the wearer. “I feel like a scientist,” said Kenyan camper Faith Kuria, one of the backpack’s inventors.
Entrepreneurship—and using their STEAM knowledge to address issues in their communities— was emphasized throughout the camp. In lectures, the girls discovered how Google uses technology to help people with disabilities complete their everyday tasks, and how edible silverware can help save the environment from further degradation.
As they began working on their final projects, the girls brainstormed to identify the problems their communities face and how they could realistically work to resolve them. “Problems are an opportunity for you to come up with a solution,” Amirah Nelson, World Learning program officer and camp director, told the girls during one brainstorming session.
To help the girls further develop their project ideas, WiSci brought in Thomas DeBass, managing director for Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State. In a workshop, he taught them the basics of marketing their ideas—“Don’t pitch. Tell a story.”—and encouraged them to let their imaginations run wild before getting bogged down in the details.
What brought me to STEAM is that they use all these subjects to solve problems, which is amazing. I want to learn how to do that and contribute something to my community back home.
Take action. All of the great intentions, all of the great ideas and good wishes become meaningless without it.
“I learned a lot, especially from Thomas,” said U.S. camper Jennifer Giron. “I always want everything to be perfect but he had us think outside of the box. I think that’s really important because sometimes our ideas don’t flow when we think there is a certain way that it has to be.”
These workshops resulted in a lot of creative and useful projects, including one team that set out to provide service dogs to people who can’t see — and do so at a low cost. As U.S. camper Leslie Marroquin explained, years ago she and her brother were in a car accident that left him blind. Her mother wasn’t able to afford a guide dog, as they can cost more than $15,000. So her team created a robotic service dog made of cheap materials such as plywood and silicone. “We invented what I personally wish had been invented,” Marroquin said.
On the last day of WiSci, campers presented their projects to a panel of judges from Intel, Girl Up, the U.S. Department of State, and the Namibia University of Science and Technology. The panel then awarded four prizes, which were made possible with the support of Cheryl Lewy, vice chair of World Learning’s Board of Trustees, and her husband Glen.
The Flat Heels project won the Most Innovative prize. Bezawit Kassaye, a camper from Ethiopia who was part of the team, explained how the shoes would come outfitted with a gas spring in the heel that would be operated by a tiny Arduino computer connected to a user’s cell phone app. The team hoped their product could help make life just a little bit easier for women around the world.
“These projects proved to me that no matter which part of the world you are from, no matter what culture, no matter what color or race or anything that makes us different, we all are facing challenges every day,” Kassaye said. “And the only way we could actually solve these challenges is by working together to find solutions for them.”
The camp projects really surprised me. It reminded me that no matter how different we are, we are all basically the same because we all have similar ideas and our goal was to help people.
You don’t have an excuse anymore to be like, ‘Oh that’s not my problem.’ You see a problem; you find a solution.
I hope you’ll take this experience back to your hometowns and that you’ll find ways to make a difference in your communities. Lead by example and make sure that you’re not competing with each other but you’re actually each others’ cheerleaders. Ensure that you’re supporting each other.
Fewer than
10%
of technology start-ups are owned by women.
Harvard Business School
In the U.S. and Developed Europe, women are
18%
less likely to perceive they have the capability to start a business.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
Over the past 20 years in the U.S.,
4in10
new entrepreneurs have been women.
2017 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity
In technology, fewer than
10%
of start-ups are owned by women, according to another new paper, by researchers at Harvard.
“I feel more empowered to make a social impact in my community.”
99%
of WiSci campers agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.
