BeginIT – A Social Educational Project by Indrive trains 33 Children on IT Skills

L-R: inDrive, BeginIT Representative & Driver Acquisition Specialist, Onuzulike Clementina; BeginIT beneficiary from Mayzer Memorial Foundation, Bello Jubril; Director, Transport Operations, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Engr. Olasunkanmi Ojowuro; BeginIT beneficiary from Mayzer Memorial Foundation, Grace Joseph; Chief Vehicle Inspection Officer, Directorate of Vehicle Inspection Service (DVIS), Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Engr. Adejoke Balogun and Business Development Representative, inDrive, Nigeria, Timothy Oladimeji during the BeginIT Stem Pop Up Programme by inDrive, held in Lagos on Saturday.

BeginIT, a social educational project spearheaded by inDrive, has completed a one-day training program for less privileged children in Nigeria with Information Technology (IT) skills.

The BeginIT program is an initiative from inDrive targeted at identifying and providing future career guidance for capable children from orphanages, boarding schools, and rural schools in the sphere of new technologies. Thirty-three students drawn from 3 schools owned by not-for-profit organizations were groomed on different technologies, including Embedded Systems (Physical Computing with Arduino kit).

At the end of the session, the students presented projects to demonstrate their ability to identify solutions relative to transportation in their environment. In his remarks, the Director of Transport Operations, Lagos Ministry of Transportation, Olasunkanmi Ojowuro, who represented the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, commended inDrive for the initiative, which he said would go a long way to bring about innovations needed to transform not only the transportation sector but other sectors in the state.

“Whatever you learn here today, make sure you take it seriously because the more you understand, the better for us all. So, it is good to seize this opportunity as kids so that Nigeria can match up with technological advancement as it is in many developed societies. For instance, transportation has changed from what we witnessed in the past. Now, we use technology to manage transportation,” he said.

Speaking on the theme, “inDrive: Future of Mobility”, InDrive’s BeginIT Representative & Driver Acquisition specialist, Onuzulike Clementina, explained that the initiative, which has registered its presence in 15 countries, including Nigeria, is geared towards catching kids young in the field of technology to stimulate their problem-solving skills and prepare them for the future of work.

“We believe strongly in the potential of every child regardless of the circumstance of their birth. We feel they need to get the knowledge in time to ensure that they can compete with their counterparts in the developed world. This is why we have come up with an initiative to enable them to reach their potential”, Clementina said.

She stated that the training would further help to deepen knowledge around transportation and automobiles by helping to groom a new generation of engineers, designers, and creatives.

Also speaking, the Programme Associate, STEMCafe, Daye Omona, stated that the organization was partnering with inDrive on the initiative to impart the kids by implementing a STEM-based program focused on the future of transportation.

According to Omona, the training session would allow the kids to learn concepts such as design thinking, conceptualization, and working with microcontrollers and sensors necessary to create, for example, a driverless car or blue tooth control boat. The list of not-for-profit institutions participating in the session includes Amazing Grace, Precious Jasper Foundation, and Mayzer Memorial Foundation.

Sponsored Content