Summary 

The CSA Africa 2022 Python Workshop ran physically from 18 July – 03 August 2022, in partnership with NITDA IT Hub (NitHub), University of Lagos, Nigeria. The two-week intensive workshop delivered six learning tracks ranging from Python Fundamentals to advanced topics including Machine Learning, Data Structures and Algorithms, and Internet of Things (IoT) with seven team members from the University of Glasgow and eight local volunteers supporting 194 participants from across Nigeria (selected from a pool of 2,024 applications received from 18 different African countries). 

About 47% of the selected participants were women, with 163 participants completing the full training and progressing to the project phase (46% women). Childcare support was provided for three mothers who attended with their babies, travel support for 36 participants travelling from outside Lagos, on-campus accommodation for 126 participants, and daily lunch for all. We were intentional about increasing gender balance by emphasising throughout the application process that women were strongly encouraged to apply and reinforcing our commitment to childcare support. 

Participants delivered creative projects including a medical bot predicting diseases based on symptoms, a machine learning web app recommending optimal crops based on soil composition, smart home and smart farm simulations with IoT, and classic game implementations including Tetris and Simon Says. The workshop culminated in team presentations where participants demonstrated both technical skills and collaborative problem-solving abilities. 

Alongside the workshop, we hosted a one-day Women in Tech Conference on Saturday 30 July with the theme "Breaking the Glass Ceiling". The conference featured an engaging panel with four Nigerian women in tech, identifying barriers sessions where participants shared experiences anonymously, and a kindness session that ended with attendees writing encouraging notes to one another. 

The CSA Africa team would like to thank the University of Lagos, NitHub, and our generous sponsors including the University of Glasgow, Morgan Stanley, ACM-W, TRI LTE, and RS Components, as well as the many individuals and teams who made this event possible.