“We need more STEM Centres of Excellence across Africa” – Students at the 3rd Annual African STEM Youth Boot camp

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) students who attended the just ended week-long STEM boot camp, in Kigali, Rwanda, called on the African governments, and the wider development community to establish more STEM Centres of Excellence across Africa. This came as the students expressed great interest in carrying forward the immense horizon-broadening knowledge and skills they acquired over the course of the training boot camp. They also called for more time to be dedicated to such boot camps, so that they can fully immerse themselves in the activities and acquire as much knowledge and tangible skills as possible.

The boot camp which was hosted by FAWE Girls School in Kigali, brought together more than 150 students from 20 schools around Kigali and more than 30 STEM teachers. The objective of the boot camp was to introduce the use of Microscience Kits, Robotics and 3D in STEM education. The boot camp went on further to focus on the application of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, for Africa’s development and attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. The boot camp was organised, by the Rwanda Natinal Commission for UNESCO, in partnership with UNESO, and other local partners. Experts delivering the training were from UNESCO and the UNESCO Centre of Excellence in Microscience in Cameroon.

This year was the 3rd session of the annual boot camp, which occurs every year at the margins of the African Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Forum, and the African Regional Forum for Sustainable Development. The overarching objective of the annual boot camp, is to expose as many African youths as possible to the new technologies, which will enable Africa, to leap-frog to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, for accelerated socioeconomic development.