Microsoft Student Partners at Ghana Technology University College will be having a Tech Help Day on September 22nd, 2015 at the forecourt of their main campus in Accra with the event starting at 10am.
The volunteer Day program will see the student partners providing technological support and consulting services to individual who turn up for FREE. They will help with upgrading your PC to Windows 10, repairing of laptops, repairing of mobile phones and try to help solve other tech related problems that are brought in. You are also sure to get some valuable lessons and tips from them at the Tech Help Day.
If you happen to be a Ghana Technology University College student or stay close to the main campus, if you don’t mind moving across from another campus or town you should take advantage of the Tech help Day and #upgradeyourworld to #Windows10 as it’ll empower you to #achievemore.
10 Ghanaian students were selected to take part in the WiSci STEAM Camp 2015 in Rwanda and Anne Marie Abban Demitrus shares her experience about the event.
That was when my perspective totally changed. I have since developed a keen interest in the sciences and opened up to the limitless opportunities available. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but now I think I’ll try my hands on computer engineering first. – Anne-Marie
Women in Science (WiSci) STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), WiSci STEAM Camp is an event organized by the U.S. Department of State, Microsoft 4Afrika, Intel, AOL Charitable Foundation, the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign, and the Rwanda Girls Initiative, with support from Meridian International Center, the Rwandan Ministry of Education, the African Leadership Academy, and the Global Entrepreneurship Network. The WiSci camp is part of the Let Girls Learn initiative, launched by the White House to open the doors of education for girls around the world. The STEAM camp (STEM + Art & Design) was established to tackle the gender imbalance in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) globally.
“Did you know that although 74 percent of girls in middle school express an interest in STEM-related fields, only 0.3 percent end up pursuing a college degree in computer science?”
Here is Anne Marie’s account of her experience, (you can see Anne-Marie talk about a technology to help with the Accra floods situation she worked on as a project in the video below between 1’18-1’53);
Me? Science camp? Me? Wow! I smiled to myself. These were the very thoughts that ran through my head when I was informed that I would be attending the first ever Wisci STEAM camp for girls in Rwanda, with several sponsors including Girl up, Intel and Microsoft. You see, I am… no sorry, was, an art inclined student. I loved everything that had at least a shred of the concept of self-expression. I mean I would be in a literature class and babble about how the writer of a particular poem felt isolated and empty inside and yearned to find a connection with the outside world to remedy his deep heartfelt anguish, when the line simply read, ‘I stared into the distance.’ That was my life. I was on top of my art class, loved English and couldn’t bear to part with French orals.
Three weeks changed all of that.
‘Oh my goodness. We’re here! We’re finally here!’ screamed the ever hyper Isabelle Quaye. ‘Isabelle shut up!’ came the tired replies of all the rest of the Ghanaians who tumbled out of the Kenya Airways aircraft on to the tarmac. Fatigued as we were one fact was undeniable, we were all secretly thrilled but somewhat skeptical to be here. When we finished the whole procedure and got to baggage claim, I suddenly straightened up and quickly brushed down my jeans. There was MAN CANDY in the house!! An extremely gorgeous Middle Eastern guy had joined the queue. Then (as expected!) a squabble broke out. We girls started arguing over who was going to be the future wife of Mr. Smoking Hot. Ten girls fighting over one guy who did not even look at us twice. Then something hit me- we were not going to see any boys for the next three weeks! Lord help us.
The first week was the Microsoft week. I honestly wasn’t looking forward to it. I half expected to walk into the class and see written on the board: INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT EXCEL… or something of that sort. Instead, I met this young bashful female trainer with a very cheery look who welcomed us with, ‘hey girls are you excited to learn about KODU?’ Momentary Pause. Rewind. Play. Err… k-ko-what? A gaming application it was, designed to allow the user to create either an animation or a game or even both depending on the user’s preference which excluded the intricate complications of actual game coding. And so my fellow readers, we spent the next five days drowning in the need to understand a whole gaming application full of commands and ,’when KODU sees apple, DO, EAT’. The classes were fun and quite stressful, no lie about that, but that was when I actually began to see myself doing things like this. I didn’t notice it at first but after the frustrations of the frozen computers, and crashing applications, I realized that I did experience joy during those five days. Was my perception changing? Could I develop a love for the sciences?
Then there was the Intel week. Our trainer informed us that we would be working with C++. Ah, I said to myself, this is a programming langu… My smile dropped. I knew next to nothing about programming languages! I told myself the week was going to be hard. As it turned out, the week was actually the best for me. I enjoyed working with programmable boards, drawing up codes for sensors and LED lights and arguing about codes written. My trainer even said smiling,’You will definitely be a software engineer!’ and to crown it all, the project my team developed, won the best prize for Technical Rigor.
That was when my perspective totally changed. I have since developed a keen interest in the sciences and opened up to the limitless opportunities available. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but now I think I’ll try my hands on computer engineering first.
Even with the several countries represented, I think I got first hand insight into how technology works in the various countries. I didn’t even know that in Rwanda there is a portable device which checks your blood pressure level as well as your cholesterol level. HA! Bet you didn’t even know either! I was able to understand that even in developing technologies, you also have to consider the culture of the society you are developing for, because just maybe you might create something you think is the ultimate solution but when implemented, might just pose as another problem for the citizens and indigenes. I mean how insightful is that?
Moving on… Did you know that in terms of leadership qualities, I am a lion? Yes. I am. I like to be in total control of things and of course, I exude confidence. This I found out during a leadership workshop at camp. I will never forget the time when I was put into a group with fellow lions. We were then given a very simple task and asked to execute it. Oh but we argued like professional attorneys. I for one was the main participant. I then learnt that it’s just how you go about things that make a difference with the work relationship you form with people.
This eye-opening advantage is one I wish that every girl in the world should be given. If I hadn’t gone for this camp, I would have missed out on the strong bonds formed, the laughter, the knowledge shared, the tears when camp ended and finally, these very dear memories I will forever hold and cherish.
Microsoft Corporation has sent out a media invite to the media and public for an October 6th event, saying
“we have some exciting news to share about Windows 10 devices”.
The event is scheduled to take place at the Skylight at Moynihan Station in New York City at 10am EDT (2pm GMT).
The event is expected to be where Microsoft showcases the next generation devices it’s been working on in the Windows 10 eco-system and also possibly speak on improvements coming in the next wave of Windows 10 OS updates.
Devices like the next flagship and premium mobile devices(Lumia’s) code named “Cityman and Talkman” with the Continuum device are expected to be announced, maybe we will get to see a Surface phone designed for the enterprise world, maybe not. The next generation of the Surface Pro is a sure possibility with rumors of a 14″ being débuted. The next version of the Microsoft Band is also another device that is expected to be showcased at the event. As to whether a developer version of the Microsoft HoloLens will be made available will be know after the event, even if we don’t get to have it, I’m sure Microsoft will talk about it and show improvements and new ventures it’s undertaking. If you are an IoT person maybe there might be some devices for you as well.
There are rumors of an Xbox One console being announced as well.
Windows 10 OS will be available on the 29th July 2015
Microsoft Operating System chief’s Terry and Joe have mentioned by a blog and twitter post respectively the availability date of Windows 10. We’ve known from earlier conferences like Build, that the OS was going to be available during the summer but that was without a definite date. The OS will be officially released on Wednesday 29th July 2015 through windows update.
July 29 is the date! Windows 10 for all! Tell friends & family: RESERVE YOUR COPY NOW to get it on day 1! http://t.co/jGSloJDZkM
To hear Cortana tell you about the availability date just ask her from your phone, below is a recorded version if you don’t have a windows phone or pc.
There is also a video highlighting the release date and some exciting windows 10 features.
Terry Myerson talks about how windows 10 is almost very polished to be released to the public.
He also mentioned “You can reserve your free Windows 10 upgrade now through a simple reservation process. Look for this icon {in the picture below} in your system tray at the bottom of your screen, simply click on the icon, and then complete the reservation process”.
Here’s how to reserve your upgrade;
Click on the small Windows icon found at the right end of the taskbar.
Click “Reserve your free upgrade” in the app window.
Enter your email if you want a confirmation of this reservation.
All set. There’s no obligation and you can cancel your reservation at any time.
You’ll get a notification when your upgrade is ready later this year. This lets you schedule the installation for a time that’s convenient.
TizaaWorks is a coined out initiative by Microsoft Ghana in what is being rolled out as a number of employability platforms in Africa and the Middle East by Microsoft’s Youthspark and 4Afrika initiatives in these regions with local partners. The idea is to have 13 platforms in Africa with Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Algeria, Egypt, Botswana, Mozambique, Mauritius, Morocco, Madagascar, Libya and Angola as beneficiaries and hopes about 960,000 jobs and 200,000 entrepreneurs will be created by the end of 2015.
Microsoft Ghana and the International Institute for Communication and Development(IICD) launched Tizaaworks and hopes it’ll be national one-stop online hub for employability and entrepreneurship. Tizaaworks acts as an online aggregator for job search, acquiring and sharpening employment and entrepreneurial skills.
The portal will help;
Plan your career – career counseling, job market info and stats
Get trained – mentor matching, IT training, entrepreneurship, CV writing, soft & language skills n
Find a job – job matching tool
Entrepreneurs – Start-up training, funding tools, social entrepreneurship and free-lance opportunities.
Get engaged – Community-based networking platform for users to share ideas and volunteer opportunities
Brad Smith, General counsel and Executive Vice President of legal and corporate affairs at Microsoft on the project said;
“Technology can empower young people to make a vital contribution to their community and our world. We hope that this platform serves as a bridge, connecting Ghana’s young people to the tools, resources and people they need to find the fulfilling careers they deserve,”
Martine Koopman, Ghana country manager and global advisory services manager for International Institute for Communication and Development(IICD) also said of the initiative;
“The TizaaWorks platform is critical for expanding IICD’s impact in supporting Ghanaian youth in smart learning, working, and earning. Thanks to TizaaWorks, our programmes that build market-driven digital skills and help youth find employment and start their own IT-related businesses can reach out to a much wider audience, beyond our physical presence”
Give the platform a try and tell us what you think.
Follow Tizaaworks on social sites Facebook, Twitter: @TizaaWork, Website: Tizaaworks
