The “Women in WACREN Physical Computing with Python” online course developed by West and Central Africa Research, Education and Network WACREN in collaboration with Eko-Konnect Research and Education Initiative (Eko-Konnect) aims to empower women in providing innovative solutions.

The course curriculum is designed to promote maker spaces and gender inclusion in hardware and electronics within NRENs whilst also shaping the participants’ critical thinking, problem-solving, leadership and entrepreneurship skills and fostering a collaborative community.

In this online course, participants will learn how to create a program with Python that interacts with embedded systems such as the Raspberry Pi, sensors and other external components.

At the end of the course, participants will receive a certificate issued by the Africa Training Initiative and an invitation to join the local community as a contributor.  Top performers will be selected for the regional Women-in-WACREN hackfest to apply knowledge gained from the course to a series of real-life practical challenges.

Topics Covered

  • Introduction to the Linux Command Line Interface (CLI)
  • Introduction to Python Programming
  • Introduction to the DevOps Lifecycle and Git – ‘GitLab’
  • Introducing Embedded Systems, Sensors and other common electronics components

Target Audience
Female students or researchers, staff, young professionals in the STEM field or from other disciplines with good computer skills and interest in smart systems.

Course Duration
10 weeks
Course Start Date: 1st July 2019

Course Format
The course is self-paced with the learning path, enhanced with two key activities for a seamless experience.

  • Discussion forums – integral to collaborative learning, this is a very important part of the course and activity with each topic. Moderated by expert facilitators, they help to amplify the resources and promote sharing of experiences and understanding between the students. This exchange of ideas improves the quality of dialogue and generates new ideas and thoughts.
  • Interactive Web-Conferencing – Two webinars, one in Week 2 (Course Orientation) and the other in Week 6 (Tracking Progress) complement the forums and make the online classes more personal and interactive. Sessions are recorded for review.

Language
This course is prepared in English, however, French-speaking applicants who can read and write fluently in English are welcome to apply.  The French version of the course is being prepared and is scheduled to be available later in the year.

How to Apply?
Click here to apply

Application Deadline: 27th June 2019.