Empowering Africa's Future in STEM and AI with Adora Nwodo

Third Culture Africans

In this episode of Third Culture Africans, Zeze engages in a conversation with Adora Nwodo, a dynamic woman in the tech world. Her career seamlessly blends the corporate nine-to-five routine with entrepreneurial pursuits, driven by her passion for engineering, STEM, and the captivating world of software development.

This episode kicks off by diving into the essential realms of STEM and AI. Unfamiliar with STEM? It stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—encompassing diverse fields like mathematics, physics, aerospace engineering, and medicine. Now, let's delve into Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on STEM careers. AI, a pivotal part of technology, relies on and empowers STEM professionals. These careers extend beyond AI development, involving customising and utilising AI in various domains like health tech, autonomous vehicles, and aerospace engineering. While STEM skills are highly valued, AI's rise sparks both job redundancy concerns and new opportunities—a conversation you can't miss!

Zeze and Adora explore Adora’s journey into tech, strategies for breaking barriers for women in tech and how to connect individuals with opportunities while providing technical guidance. They also discuss exciting trends in the African tech industry.

Nwodo's tech passion ignited in Nigeria at the age of six, guided by her older brothers. She embarked on a lifelong love affair with technology, eventually earning a First-Class Honors degree in computer science from the University of Lagos (UNILAG). Marked by her determination to forge her path and exceed her family's expectations, Adora began a career in the tech industry. During her university years, she took on a role as a software intern at an advertising company, a position she continued even after completing her NYSC service. This phase played a pivotal role in her journey, exposing her to diversity, broadening her perspective, and requiring her to balance multiple responsibilities, including being a working student, managing her shoe brand, and actively participating in tech communities.

In her current role, Adora plays a pivotal role in NexaScale, a community group dedicated to facilitating valuable work experience for individuals through a range of projects and programs. When it comes to empowering women in tech, support systems are crucial. It is a cause close to her heart, clearly demonstrated by her active participation in NexaScale for women. Here, she conducts sessions on financial literacy and personal branding, with the aim of uplifting and educating aspiring female tech professionals.

Regarding the future of the tech industry in Africa, Adora highlights the immense potential of young Africans, particularly millennials and Gen Z, who are making significant contributions to the global tech landscape. Africa is emerging as an attractive market, with its young creators and engineers gaining recognition worldwide. The creator economy is thriving in Africa, with young content creators dominating platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Additionally, Africa's growing remote workforce is playing a pivotal role in the industry's development.

Tune in, this is a MUST-listen! For all those interested in tech careers, especially young Africans aspiring to make their mark in the industry, this is a MUST-listen! You will learn about the thrilling synergy of STEM, AI, and African tech and gain valuable insights into shaping your own tech journey.

About Adora Nwodo:

Adora Nwodo is a multi-award-winning Software Engineer who currently works at Microsoft building Mixed Reality on the Cloud.

She is also the Vice President of the Nigerian chapter for VRAR Association, a Digital Creator, Founder of NexaScale, has courses online that teaches people about Infrastructure automation, author of a popular book "Cloud Engineering for Beginners" and multiple articles on Software Engineering, Productivity & Career Growth on her blog “AdoraHack” and student of LEAD in the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Adora spends a lot of her time on Twitter and LinkedIn sharing about her experience as a woman in tech. She is extremely passionate about the developer community and is trying to drive inclusion for women in technology. She co-organizes community events for unStack Africa, contributes to Open Source, and speaks at technology conferences worldwide.

Topics:

• 🎙️ Welcome Adora Nwodo to Third Culture Africans!: (00:00)
• 🔍 What is STEM? (00:02:23)
• 🚀 AI Era: How does a STEM career expand your horizons? (00:04:29)
• 💻 Software engineering: Moving into tech (00:07:47)
• 🎓 Graduating with The First Class Honours (00:14:42)
• 🚀 How Adora found her way into the tech industry (00:17:40)
• 🌐 Insights on breaking the barriers as a woman in tech (00:30:44)
• 💼 Exploring Adora’s current work at NexaScale (00:36:05)
• 🌍 Exciting and promising trends in the future of tech in Africa (00:43:35)
• 💡 Advice for young Africans aspiring to pursue a tech career (00:45:21)
• 💬 Thoughts about remote workforce and remote learning (00:49:38)

Mentioned resources:

• Cloud Engineering For Beginners
• Beginning Azure DevOps: Planning, Building, Testing, and Releasing Software Applications on Azure
• ZoneTechPark
• NestHubAfrica

Connect with Adora Nwodo:

• Linkedin
• Instagram
• Web
• Youtube
• Twitter
• NexaScale