MUST Girls STEAM Camp finally opens
Posted By
James MphandePosted on
1st Jul, 2024
The much-touted Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) Girls STEAM Camp finally opened today with a number of role models and motivational speakers sharing their life experiences and success stories with the young girls.
There are around 200 secondary school girls attending the camp this year and they will be at MUST campus in Thyolo until July 12 when the camp will end.
Over the period, they will be exposed and participate in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) related activities that include experiments, projects, industrial visits, motivational talks, life skills, reproductive health, general education tips and cultural events.
In her motivational talk, Dr Tabitha Nindi, a research fellow and development economist, debunked the myth that sciences are not meant for girls by sharing her successes with sciences.
“As a student, I was very good in Physics, Mathematics and other science subjects. So it is not true that these are subjects that only boys can do,” she said.
On her part, Economics Association of Malawi acting president, Dr Bertha Bangara Chikadza told the girls that Malawi is poor today because girls are lagging behind in many aspects of economic development. She cited areas such as education, agriculture, business, health and others, saying if girls or women took an active role and in numbers, things could have been different.
Executive Dean of the Bingu School of Culture and Heritage (BISCH) at MUST, Dr Atikonda Mtenje Mkochi urged the girls to work hard, have self belief, invest in themselves, and love fellow women.
“As indicated my colleagues, things will not come easy to us, we need to work for them. Have a vision for your life and work towards realising it,” said Dr Mkochi while calling on the girls to make a public pledge that they will change things not only in their lives but in Malawi and beyond.
After the speeches, the girls broke into sessions where they were drilled in various education aspects around STEAM. They have facilitators that include MUST lecturers and the university’s students.
This year’s camp has been made possible with support from Standard Bank, UN-Women, NICO Life, MUST Institute for Industrial Research and Innovation (MIIRI through the Vice Chancellor's office, ICT Association of Malawi, National Commission for Science and Technology, Plan International Malawi, EGENCO, SAVE Project at MUST and THES Project at MUST.
There are around 200 secondary school girls attending the camp this year and they will be at MUST campus in Thyolo until July 12 when the camp will end.
Over the period, they will be exposed and participate in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) related activities that include experiments, projects, industrial visits, motivational talks, life skills, reproductive health, general education tips and cultural events.
In her motivational talk, Dr Tabitha Nindi, a research fellow and development economist, debunked the myth that sciences are not meant for girls by sharing her successes with sciences.
“As a student, I was very good in Physics, Mathematics and other science subjects. So it is not true that these are subjects that only boys can do,” she said.
On her part, Economics Association of Malawi acting president, Dr Bertha Bangara Chikadza told the girls that Malawi is poor today because girls are lagging behind in many aspects of economic development. She cited areas such as education, agriculture, business, health and others, saying if girls or women took an active role and in numbers, things could have been different.
Executive Dean of the Bingu School of Culture and Heritage (BISCH) at MUST, Dr Atikonda Mtenje Mkochi urged the girls to work hard, have self belief, invest in themselves, and love fellow women.
“As indicated my colleagues, things will not come easy to us, we need to work for them. Have a vision for your life and work towards realising it,” said Dr Mkochi while calling on the girls to make a public pledge that they will change things not only in their lives but in Malawi and beyond.
After the speeches, the girls broke into sessions where they were drilled in various education aspects around STEAM. They have facilitators that include MUST lecturers and the university’s students.
This year’s camp has been made possible with support from Standard Bank, UN-Women, NICO Life, MUST Institute for Industrial Research and Innovation (MIIRI through the Vice Chancellor's office, ICT Association of Malawi, National Commission for Science and Technology, Plan International Malawi, EGENCO, SAVE Project at MUST and THES Project at MUST.
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