Africa Science Week To Take Place In Cameroon From June 27-30

The Next Einstein Forum’s (NEF) Africa Science Week (ASW) is a continent-wide celebration of science and technology that brings together students, scientists, technologists, and innovators through coordinated events across Africa throughout June 2017. Through its 1mil1 campaign, ASW aims to encourage citizens to engage with science and technology and better understand how it impacts their daily lives.

For its maiden edition, NEF’s ASW was held in 13 countries: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania. Led by NEF Ambassadors, the initiative was designed for different age groups and created opportunities for citizens to engage with everyday science.

The program also aims to instill curiosity and interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), especially among young Africans, women, and girls. NEF Ambassadors worked alongside academic institutions and private sector partners to make the initiative a success.

Africa Science Week Cameroon (June 27-30, 2017)

Cameroon alone has over 200 higher learning institutions offering STEM-related programs, with the majority of students attending public universities. According to discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, investment in science, technology, research, and innovation is expected to be a major driver of Africa’s future growth. Several public and private initiatives have already been launched to position Cameroon as a leading ICT hub in Africa.

However, like many African countries, unemployment remains a major challenge due to corruption, poor governance, political instability, and limited opportunities. Many graduates continue to struggle to find jobs despite earning excellent degrees.

This reality has pushed many young people toward self-learning and innovation. One example is 17-year-old Nji Collins Gbah, who, despite the internet ban affecting parts of Cameroon at the time, defeated 1,229 contestants to become the first African to win the Google Code-In challenge. The achievement earned him a trip to the Googleplex in Silicon Valley and recognition from Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

As the future of work becomes increasingly global and technology-driven, the importance of science, technology, and innovation in Africa cannot be overstated. These are the tools that will help shape the future many young Africans aspire to build.

NEF Ambassador Arreytambe Tabot is the Founder and CEO of the EduTeens Science Development Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on improving student achievement, teacher effectiveness, and school quality through technology-driven initiatives. Prior to this, he served as Deputy Head of the Computer Science Department at the Nigerian Turkish Nile University, where he also volunteered as an Android Student Club Facilitator and Google Computer Science First Advocate.

He later won the highly competitive Google Computer Science for High Schools grant, making his university one of only four African universities selected globally that year. A former Google Student Ambassador, Tabot now serves as an Ambassador for the Next Einstein Forum and as a Global Education Ambassador for A World at School.

In 2016, he was selected as one of the Young Global Leaders to join the White House Emerging Global Leaders–Atlas Corps Fellowship Program in the United States. He currently serves as a Senior Software Engineer at Affinis Labs, a Virginia-based social enterprise focused on building digital platforms for community development.

He is also an alumnus of the 2016 INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme and recently represented Cameroon as a UNESCO delegate during the UNESCO Week for Peace and Sustainable Education in Ottawa, Canada.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Buea in Cameroon, and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the African University of Science and Technology in Abuja, Nigeria. He is currently completing a PhD in Computer Science at the same university, where he studied as an African Development Bank scholar.

A frequent speaker on both national and international platforms, he continues to advocate for education, technology, and innovation across Africa.

The detailed event schedule is as follows:

Events

• Tech Meetup: Gathering of industry leaders and some of the country’s finest tech entrepreneurs for a time for networking, forward thinking, and bonding. Sessions will include panel discussions, presentations, pitch sessions and networking. In attendance will also be representatives from Academia.
• Women in STEM: Digital Literacy, Web and Mobile development training for Women. This is geared towards empowering women and girls to start, lead and grow tech companies and thus increase their visibility in this mostly male dominated fields.
• Ignite Talks: 5 minute presentations by for-profit company representatives, researchers and social entrepreneurs on the work they are doing towards creating sustainable communities.
• Hackathons: 8 hours code sprints during which teams of developers will be required to come up with a viable for profit or non-profit idea that will be judged by a panel constituted of entrepreneurs and potential investors during the Tech Meetup. Free food will be provided throughout so that they don’t have to leave the arena.

Dates:

Tuesday 27, June 2017 (Official Launch of the African Science Week in Cameroon)

Time: 8 AM to 6 PM

Venue: Chariot Hotel, Buea

Tuesday 27, June 2017 (Hackathon)

Time: 8 AM to 4 PM

Venues:

• Douala: Activspaces, Immeuble TECNO, Boulevard de la Liberté, Douala, Cameroon.
• Yaoundé: NexGen Technology Center, P.O Box 30936, Besides Victor Hugo, Nsimeyong Yaoundé, Cameroon.
• Buea: Activspaces, First Trust Building, Great Soppo, Buea, South West Region, Cameroon.
• Limbe: TBA (To Be Announced)

Registration for Hackathon here (please read the instructions carefully). 

Wednesday 28, June 2017 (Women in STEM event)

Time: 8 AM to 5 PM

Venues:

• Douala: Activspaces, Immeuble TECNO, Boulevard de la Liberté, Douala, Cameroon.
• Yaoundé: NexGen Technology Center, P.O Box 30936, Besides Victor Hugo, Nsimeyong Yaoundé, Cameroon.
• Buea: Activspaces, First Trust Building, Great Soppo, Buea, South West Region, Cameroon.

Registration link for Women in STEM event here.

Thursday 29 June 2017 (Tech Meetup)

Time: 3 PM to 9 PM

Venue: Chariot Hotel, Buea

Friday 30 June 2017

TV interview

For any inquiries, please send an email to Africa Science Week Cameroon. For more information about the African Science Week, visit their website.