Despite progress in gender equity in STEM, the underrepresentation of women persists so we are delighted to be supporting our charity partner, Technovation, based in the US, in their fantastic work to empower girls to become leaders, creators, and problem-solvers in technology.

Recently, Foundation Director, Sarah Smith, had the privilege of attending Technovation’s World Summit – the finale of their acclaimed Girls Program.

This 12-week project-based curriculum teaches essential skills such as coding, AI and entrepreneurship.

This year more than 31,000 girls were reached through a supportive network of volunteer mentors and parents. They collaborated in teams to code mobile applications that tackle real community issues aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The culmination of their efforts was a competition where teams submitted their app solutions. This year, over 5,000 volunteer judges provided invaluable feedback on the projects. 50 girls from 12 different countries reached the final World Summit pitch event and showcased their innovative ideas in front of an audience eager to support their endeavours.

The day before the World Summit, Sarah had the opportunity to engage with the girls as they prepared for their pitches. Sarah accompanied the beginners division (for girls aged 8-12 years old) during their pitch practice and was hugely impressed with their creativity and determination. She said, “The app ideas presented were all so well designed and it was brilliant to see how they combined the tech skills they had learned through the program with their hearts for making a positive difference in the world.”

One especially impressive team, the ‘Digidaisies’ from Kazakhstan, comprising two girls aged just 8 and 9—designed an app aimed at assisting people with hearing loss inspired by a friend’s experience with cochlear implants.

All the girls practiced their pitches and were able to receive helpful feedback from female industry experts so that they could improve their final pitches for the next day.

In addition to pitch practices, the girls toured leading companies such as Electronic Arts, Netflix, and John Deere. Sarah joined them on their visit to Electronic Arts, where she witnessed firsthand their enthusiasm as young female employees at these companies shared their career journeys. This experience helped the girls visualize themselves in similar roles in the future.

The following day marked the much-anticipated World Summit—a celebration of all their hard work. It was fantastic to hear the girls present their app ideas with newfound confidence after incorporating feedback from judges.

Among the brilliant app ideas were solutions addressing food insecurity in Nigeria and an anti-bullying app developed by three girls from Spain.

Congratulations to all the winners and participants—your hard work is truly inspiring!

The event also featured a panel of women in tech and alumnae who once participated in this competition and are now in successful tech careers. They shared their journeys and insights with the girls helping them to visualise clear pathways for potential tech careers in the future.

The Spectris Foundation is proud to support Technovation’s brilliant work. Thank you for your dedication to empowering girls and women in technology!