The playing field that does not favour women continues to be a sore thumb in South African society. For this reason, the CEAD partnered with Azibuye Digital Technologies, which is in partnership with Vodacom, to narrow the digital divide. The three organisations ran a three-day boot camp from 25-27 September 2024 at the University to empower 50 female learners from the five Vumengazi (eNgonyameni) Tribal Authority schools because it has a partnership with MUT. Each school is represented by 10 learners from grades 9 and 10, while 10 are from the CEAD 2019 Coding and Robotics pilot project and a Ministerial Project on Coding and Robotics, all from different predominantly Umlazi High Schools. The participating eNgonyameni high schools are Mhawu, Skhwama, Fundinduku, Mathinta and Nwabi.
Professor Busisiwe Nkonki-Mandleni, the Director of CEAD, said the “structured” programme focuses on underprivileged girls to “tackle the low representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)”. Professor Nkonki-Mandleni said the programme’s purpose was to introduce underprivileged girls to coding basics and career paths related to the current and future skills gaps while also building a talent pipeline “that speaks to our current and future skills that are needed.” Mbali Magwaza from Vodacom stated that girls would be part of the Vodacom-sponsored program until they reach grade 12. They might also get financial assistance from the communication giant for further studies.
Dr Maseru Mkhwane, CEO of Azibuyemasisweni Digital Technologies, said they wanted to bridge the gap between technology and digital transformation and give more exposure to girls to increase the number of women in technology. Dr. Mkhwane noted that all digital domains, such as Data Science Practitioners, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Drone Computing, Virtual Reality Tech, Coding, and Robotics, are still male-dominant.