Working to Advance STEM Education for African Women (WAAW) Foundation is launching a high quality, exciting and technically challenging one week residential Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) camp for African Girls in Senior Secondary School (9th to 12th Grades). The theme of the camp is Robotics and Renewable Energy. The camp will be help from July 28th to August 3rd in Lagos, Nigeria.

Wylie, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/25/2013 -- Working to Advance STEM Education for African Women (WAAW), in partnership with the Women&aposs Technology Empowerment Center (W.TEC)Nigeria will launch its one-week residential Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) camp at the Laureates College in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria from July 28th to August 2nd, 2013. The theme of the 2013 camp is ROBOTICS AND RENEWABLE ENERGY.

The Director of WAAW STEM Camp initiative, Ms. Ifeyinwa Okoye said "The camp will use an integrated learning approach centered around the theme to show how robotics, computer science and programming are useful for solving significant problems in Africa, including electricity generation. The girls will learn to use locally available items and tools so that when camp is over, they will be able to continue to innovate with what they can find in their communities."

The Robotics STEM camp, the first of its kind in Africa, will include hands on activities, lectures, tutorials, experiments and field trips, all led and presented by female role models as an avenue to interest and excite the girls about STEM careers.

Camp applications will open in March online at http://waawfoundation.org. Campers will be selected through a screening process and individual interviews. Successful candidates will be notified the first week of May 2013.

When asked about the criteria for qualification, the Executive Director of WAAW, Mrs. Ebele Agu states that "This camp is for African girls between the ages of 13 and 17 years who are currently enrolled in Senior Secondary School (SS1) through SS3 within the African continent. We feel that this is the age where girls are making crucial decisions about their careers. This is when we can make a lasting impression on the girls and help them form peer networks that they can draw on through out their careers".

The STEM Camp Program will include:

- Students building a robot to solve green energy challenges such as trash sorting.
- Students building renewable energy systems such as solar and Wind Mill systems.
- Students exploring science, engineering and Math topics to support camp theme.
- Students participating in intense team building exercises.

There will also be time for fun! The camp schedules a number of activities that include swimming, pizza parties, baking classes, dance classes, career fair, wii playing and karaoke. Participants will experience dorm life, cafeteria food and learn what it is like to be on a college campus.

"The learning objective is to ensure girls think of Science and Technology as tools to help them innovate to enable real problem solving in their communities", says Dr. Unoma Okorafor, the founder of WAAW Foundation organization.

Participants are African girls (ages 13 – 17) who show high aptitude and interest in STEM disciplines. drawn both from government or public schools fed by low income families. who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn about or be exposed to possible STEM careers. and from private schools. The aim of the camp is to challenge traditional African societal beliefs that female education is wasted resources and demonstrate that STEM innovation helps solve real problems in the communities in which our participants live.

About WAAW Foundation
WAAW Foundation is a 501(c) Non Profit organization whose mission is to increase the pipeline of African women in Science. Technology. Engineering and Math (STEM) related disciplines. and work to ensure that this talent is engaged in African innovation.

Our Vision:

- To train and engage women leaders who contribute to technology and economic growth in Africa.
- To become the premier international partner of choice within a global movement dedicated to ending poverty in Africa through female education.
- To be globally recognized for our unshakable commitment to the empowerment of African women.
- To contribute towards poverty eradication in African through Science and Technology research and innovation

Our Strategy:

- To Empower African Women With A Strong Voice
- Exposing, motivating and mentoring them in their pursuit of rewarding careers in science, engineering and technology related fields by: Educating and providing opportunities for education and promoting sustainable technology research and innovation activities for African Women.

Build STEM Communities that strengthen impact for African women by:

- Promoting avenues that will bring African women leaders and organizations from private industry, academia and governments to share ideas, collaborate, mentor and build and retain technology capacity in Africa.
- Building vibrant communities that engage girls with role models and mentors to ensure an ever increasing pipeline.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/stem/afrinca-women/sbwire-212102.htm

Working to Advance STEM Education for African Women (WAAW) Foundation recently was awarded a grant from Google Rise – Roots in Science and Engineering. This grant will enable WAAW Foundation to expand and continue the STEM Outreach program providing role models from universities to secondary school students.

Wylie, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2013 -- Working to Advance STEM Education for African Women (WAAW) Foundation recently was awarded a $20,000 grant from Google Rise – Roots in Science and Engineering. This grant will enable WAAW expand the impact of one of its initiatives, the STEM Cell (Unit) and conduct training of Fellows at the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja Nigeria For Greater impact in the Secondary School STEM Outreach programs.

WAAW STEM Outreach program was established to promote STEM learning for Government Junior Secondary School Students. The Award will expand the impact of the STEM Cell (Unit) and conduct training of Fellows at the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja Nigeria for greater impact in the Secondary School STEM Outreach programs.

According to Google RISE, the awards are designed to promote and support Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Computer Science (CS) education initiatives. “We grant awards to organizations working with K-12/Primary and Secondary schools to provide enrichment programs in these fields.”

“Google believes that technology will continue to play an important role in shaping our future, and the youth of today will help innovate and drive these technologies for years to come. We hope that all students will one day have the chance to reach their potential and achieve great things in science. To that end, we aspire to help students take one step closer to achieving their potential by offering organizational growth and development opportunities through the Google RISE Awards.”

Award amounts range from $5,000 - $25,000 USD.

The Founder of WAAW Foundation, Dr. Unoma Okoroafor very pleased with this achievement, said, “The Google RISE grant will be used to provide further training to the students as well as set up the necessary resources for a more effective STEM cell office, that will improve the functioning and expand the impact of the Cell.”

Funds will go towards items like Setting up a Content Resource Website (CRW), purchase of necessary teaching resources, purchase of re-useable STEM demonstration kits and development of initial teaching content. Funds will also be used to train fellows in the use, maintenance and extension of the CRW as well as gain skills that will make them successful as role models.

The goals of our project are as follows:

- Train STEM graduate and University students to develop an avocation of contributing to K-12 STEM education by facilitating University student-led outreach programs aimed at STEM tutoring and mentoring for younger students (ages 11-15) in surrounding Secondary Schools.

- Integrate higher education research and innovation into secondary school learning by fostering interactions between secondary school students, and college/graduate students and academic professionals that will influence secondary school career selection toward STEM. Our program will expose STEM graduate students and faculty to secondary school students and vice versa, thereby resulting in improved interest for University students, and advanced understanding of STEM fields for Secondary students.

- Help secondary schools to reduce the consequences of insufficient qualifications of STEM teachers by injecting Graduate students with STEM and CS hands on and research knowledge into Secondary classrooms, and advancing discovery through STEM integrative, inquiry-based curricula and interaction with STEM Cell Fellows.

- Provide secondary school students with first hand STEM career knowledge and opportunity at the secondary school level, through the development of sustained partnerships with graduate students at universities and higher education institutions.

- Providing an opportunity for University students to provide sustained engagement, monitoring and impact to Secondary schools students and a reliable avenue to directly identify secondary school girls with keen interest and aptitude toward STEM as potential candidates to engage in the WAAW annual summer STEM camp.

- Develop a transportable and scalable model for the institutionalization of a sustainable secondary school partnership with higher education STEM departments, and illustrate the value of secondary school involvement for training STEM graduate students in communication, organization, productions, evaluation and molding the complete STEM individual.

About WAAW Foundation:
WAAW Foundation is a 501(c) Non Profit organization whose mission is to increase the pipeline of African women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) related disciplines, and work to ensure that this talent is engaged in African innovation.

Our Vision:

- To train and engage women leaders who contribute to technology and economic growth in Africa.
- To become the premier international partner of choice within a global movement dedicated to ending poverty in Africa through female education.
- To be globally recognized for our unshakable commitment to the empowerment of African women.
- To contribute towards poverty eradication in African through Science and Technology research and innovation

Our Strategy:

To Empower African Women With A Strong Voice

Exposing, motivating and mentoring them in their pursuit of rewarding careers in science, engineering and technology related fields by: Educating and providing opportunities for education and promoting sustainable technology research and innovation activities for African Women.

Build STEM Communities that strengthen impact for African women by:

- Promoting avenues that will bring African women leaders and organizations from private industry, academia and governments to share ideas, collaborate, mentor and build and retain technology capacity in Africa.

- Building vibrant communities that engage girls with role models and mentors to ensure an ever increasing pipeline .

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/waaw-foundation-receives-grant-from-google-rise-207866.htm