Joan Nabusoba

Congratulations to Joan Nabusoba, one of our 2020 Pass It On Award Winners.

After seeing her father’s passion for technology, Joan was inspired to travel a similar path. She ended up in an Information Technology course, though she admits she didn’t know much about it.

I had not interacted with computers before and I had a lot of catching up to do. What inspired me is my classmates who were willing to learn together, and in the process we realized that there are fewer women who chose technology fields. With this in mind, I was determined to enlighten young women as much as possible to understand what technology is and how it can impact their lives.

That initial experience with tech inspired Joan to create better onramps for more women in computing. She co-founded Pwani Teknowgalz, a community based organization that equips girls and young women from marginalized communities with employable practical skills in STEM for them to be sustainable and contribute to the digital economy. 

Being the Professional Development Director, my duties include devising curriculum geared towards our mission and our programs. Through programs like Technovation challenge and CodeHack, after the girls finish the program, they are more motivated and inspired to create solutions for their community problems using technology.

Joan takes pride in inspiring the next generation of women in STEM to see themselves as problem solvers in an ever-evolving field.

With technology, you will enjoy being a creator. Technology isn’t a stagnating field, and you have to stay relevant by constantly updating your knowledge. The internet has a lot of opinions in technology, and there is no absolute truth. Stay relevant, but keep a critical mind. Nothing is beyond your reach when you learn the basics. Finally, keep in mind that growth alone isn’t advisable, have a team that inspires you to grow, and you’ll go far.

Congrats again to Joan and all our 2020 Pass-it-On Award winners!