Carleton hosted the first Technovation Challenge in Ottawa on Jan. 17 using its brand new Accelerator facilities in an effort to increase the involvement of women in fields like technology and entrepreneurship.
The Accelerator facilities are managed by the Sprott School of Business, and cover 4,000-square-feet of the first floor of St. Patrick’s Building, according to a press release.
The Technovation Challenge is a global technology entrepreneurship program for young women ages 10-18, the release said.
The program runs for 12 weeks and is hosted in 45 different countries, said Tony Bailetti, associate professor at Sprott who was involved with the event.
“Carleton provided the facilities, and we provided the web development tutorial that two of my students delivered, and other 10 students will deliver the next 11 weeks for students,” Bailetti said.
Bailetti added companies Shopify and IBM will provide the facilities for the next 11 weeks of tutorials. The Ottawa Chapter of Women Powering Technology recruited 45 girls from six high schools to participate in the program across the city.
Jennifer Francis, a spokesperson for the chapter, said the girls are given the opportunity to develop a mobile application in the workshops, and develop a business idea around it.
“They have to build an app that is relevant to their community then build a marketing and business plan,” Francis said. “In the end of the 12 weeks [the girls] do a pitch contest and then we will select the winning Ottawa team.”
Francis added the program aims to improve the image of the fields of technology and entrepreneurship for young women.
“The image [technology] has generated is more of a guys in all black in a dark basement playing video games and hacking,” Francis said. “Part of the program is to introduce young girls to women that are in technology careers and are not basement dwelling.”
Young girls who attended the workshops said their genuine interest in technology and entrepreneurship brought them to the Technovation Challenge, and the low number of females in stem fields does not intimidate them.
“As a young kid I’ve been building computers. I’ve always been interested in this technical field,” said Stephanie, a student from Merivale High School. “There are only a few girls that are tech-based in my school but everyone has been very supportive of it.”
“Girls are just as smart as boys are. Girls have the potential to advance in this field,” Jasmine, a student from Sir Wilfred Laurier High School, said.
