Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Technovation Girls Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan’s largest STEM program for girls, is starting a new season. The program is organized by the NGO Tech4Impact in partnership with the Agency for Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Yandex Go online service. On 24 January 2023, the program launch events were held in Tashkent, Nukus and Ferghana.

Technovation Girls is an international technology competition for girls, which takes place annually in 160 countries around the world. The purpose of the competition is to instill in the participants "flexible" skills, to interest girls in IT technologies, business and entrepreneurship in the IT field.

The 12-week program includes training modules in programming, marketing, business and presentation skills.

Girls learn how to solve socially significant problems with the help of technology and create innovative mobile applications in areas related to the Sustainable Development Goals.

“Technovation Girls gives girls the opportunity to try themselves in the field of technology, create their own IT projects, show creativity and develop leadership skills. Over the 6 years of running the program in Uzbekistan, many of our participants have already become role models for other girls, and we rejoice at their career and educational success,” says Saida Yusupova, director of NGO Tech4Impact.

“We have been supporting the Technovation Girls program for many years, as the gender issue in the field of science and technology is relevant for Uzbekistan. The agency is working to increase the number of girls and women studying and working in STEM areas, and the Technovation program is a great opportunity for girls to become interested in this area,” said Shakhlo Turdikulova, Deputy Minister of Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

“Working in IT allows not only solving socially significant tasks, but also opens up many opportunities for young professionals to realize their potential and achieve their dreams. We are happy to become partners of the project in order to share our expertise in creating a tech business and support girls at the beginning of their career path,” said Evgeny Shumilov, director of government relations in Yandex Go international markets.

In 2023, as part of the partnership, specialists from Yandex Go and other Yandex services will share knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence, development, marketing, business processes, and creative industries with the participants. The teams are also supported by mentors who are entrepreneurs, teachers, university students and IT professionals. During the program, each team creates a mobile application, writes a business plan for the project and shoots a video about the project, and also presents their project at the final of the competition.

According to a study of previous streams, 82% of girls became more confident in the field of technology and entrepreneurship, 98% of participants gained teamwork skills, 40% of participants want to develop their careers in STEM areas, and 100% of participants began to understand how technology can help in solving real problems in society.

Teams, led by mentors, are developing social mobile applications on topics such as: educational processes in schools in Uzbekistan, mental health of adolescents, helping children with developmental disabilities, reducing gender inequality, protecting homeless animals, helping low-income families, planting trees in Karakalpakstan and others regions, monitoring air quality, finding part-time jobs for women, and other topics.

After participating in the competition, Technovation graduates win competitions and study grants, enter leading local and international universities, make a career in IT, science and engineering, and create their own startups.

“For me, participation in such an international technology competition was a unique opportunity. My team and I worked on creating an educational application in the field of engineering. I learned how to program using App Inventor and got a great experience,” shared Sabina, a graduate of Technovation-2021.

Registration for the Technovation Girls Uzbekistan contest is open until 1 February 2023. Girls from 12 to 18 years old from all regions of the country are invited to participate in Technovation. Offline trainings and seminars will be held in 3 cities: Tashkent, Nukus and Ferghana. Teams from all regions of Uzbekistan can participate in online seminars. Participation in the program is free. Knowledge of English is important.