His firm, InovTech STEM Heart, travels to varsities throughout Ghana to show college students and lecturers the ins and outs of STEM by robotics training.
“Computing [and coding] must be like a primary language — each baby ought to be taught,” Sowah, 23, says.
InovTech STEM Heart provides classes in net design, app growth and 3D modeling and printing, amongst different expertise. Workshops empower college students to flex their artistic muscle mass and discover methods to use the teachings they be taught within the classroom to the tech discipline.
“Now they know the relevance of what they’re studying in school. They know that if I will be taught geometry, that is what I can do with a robotic,” he says.
A defining second
Like many entrepreneurs, Sowah’s path to success was a bit unconventional. The Ghanaian was born and raised within the coastal township of Teshie, near the capital Accra, the place he spent most days working at his grandmother’s provisions retailer.
He says he was serious about data know-how (IT) from a younger age, however he grew annoyed with the way it was being taught in class. So, at 13 years previous, Sowah determined to drop out and get a job at an area web café.
“I knew I might accomplish that significantly better, and I used to be so restricted,” he remembers.
As soon as he had free entry to the web, he says he spent his spare time browsing the online to observe robotics tutorials, including “I used to be all the time researching, I used to be studying new issues.”
The self-taught pc scientist finally went again to high school and enrolled in Labone Senior Excessive College with goals of changing into a neurosurgeon. However as soon as once more, Sowah says he was disenchanted with a scarcity of emphasis on IT. This time, he took it upon himself to begin a artistic know-how membership referred to as CREATECH.
“We began studying. We began instructing ourselves as nicely. After which we began going for robotics competitions,” Sowah says.
He credit his geography trainer for pushing him to show CREATECH into the InovTech STEM Heart. Right this moment, the corporate is reaching college students and lecturers all through the nation. It really works intently with the Ghana Instructional Service to purchase robotics kits and work with faculties. However Sowah tells CNN many rural areas nonetheless face important challenges to training.
“You go to those locations, they usually haven’t got computer systems,” he says. “It is as much as us to be taught it because the privileged ones after which go and educate the underprivileged ones.”
A “studying nation”
Along with bettering entry to assets, Sowah is decided to assist shut the gender hole in STEM.
InovTech STEM Heart empowers younger ladies by its “STEM for Her” outreach program and in addition launched a “Woman Energy Workshop” final 12 months.
“We needed to introduce ladies to the thrilling a part of robotics, for them to satisfy these folks which can be already within the business doing robotic or tech-related careers, after which mentor them, educate them after which information them,” Sowah says, including he believes the federal government can do extra to assist the development of STEM.
Sowah asks the federal government and different worldwide organizations to put money into STEM throughout Africa, significantly in Ghana, “as a result of what we’re doing, we’re doing for our nation.”
“My dream for Ghana is a Ghana [where] each pupil [has] entry to training … irrespective of the place they’re,” he provides. “A Ghana [where] each trainer is expert … [and] has the fitting to assets to coach the scholars, to encourage them and empower them.”
