-Featuring girls in ICT, a career not pursued by many girls and women locally
It has been said that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a man’s job but these three young women have defied the odds and are pursuing careers in this field.

They are Alicia Layne, Farnaz Baksh and Amrita Ramnauth, all students of the University of Guyana (UG).

Alicia Layne
At 20 years of age Alicia Layne is a final year student at the UG who is reading for her Masters in Computer Science and is an example that girls and women can be just as competitive as that of the other gender in the field.

Layne is nearing the completion of her 4-year programme at UG and the experience has been a life-changing one for her since it has broaden her scope in many aspects in ICT and has her eyes set on becoming a web and graphic developer.

In her class of 24 students there are only seven young women but that has not prevented her from her studies.

Layne is a volunteer in the UG Girls in Computing Club and she is using her experience to reach out to school aged girls to pursue careers in ICT.

The student told the Sunday Chronicle that women have a lot of potential in ICT and they are not maximizing the options.

Layne said, I did it and so can you (girls and women) since she finds it very challenging yet rewarding because her dreams are being realised and all it takes is the effort and the rest comes naturally once you apply yourself.”

She is in the process of developing a proto-type and framework for two health systems to help diabetic patients in Guyana manage their condition.

Layne is hoping to work along with the Ministry of Public Health in this project to gain work experience before continuing her studies of attaining her Masters in Computer Science.

She is originally from Golden Fleece, Essequibo Coast but reside with her parents and three siblings, who are very supportive of her choice of career and studies at an East Bank Essequibo village.

This ever-smiling young lady has an air of confidence unlike any other and is firm in her aspirations for the future.
Layne credits her success to the knowledge gained at UG through projects which allows students to showcase their creativity that ultimately brings out their scientific edge which contributes to their existing research agenda.

She said, “I see myself as someone who is interested in many things because I do not want to limit myself but satisfy all my interests with no restrictions.”

This bubbly young lady is geared towards self-development and is also a member of the Girls in Computing Club which is involved in two-fold plan to visit high schools to inspire girls to visit UG and take up careers in ICT.

Layne related that they would like to launch a ‘big sister’ programme at UG to mentor new students enrolled in Computer Science studies.

Farnaz Baksh

This 22-year-old first year Computer Science student said that so far, her journey in the ICT field has been an amazing world of possibilities where she interacted with people that share the similar interests.

From her experience at UG Baksh stated that she feels moved to reach out to girls and women to also follow careers in the ICT arena.

Her mission was conceptualised after her participation in the ‘Hour of Code’ which was held in observance of promoting Computer Science education week last year where coding was introduced to school girls.

Baksh is a robotics and artificial intelligent enthusiasts who is a member of the UG Robotics Club which was established a few weeks ago on campus with the aim of bringing students together to work on projects.

This self-starter of a young lady hails from Industry, East Coast Demerara, who is excited about her future in the world of ICT and is hoping to build robots to do household chores someday, giving women more spare time.

Baksh said, “Careers in ICT isn’t only a man’s job but women are also successful and girls and women with an interest and liking can make a start because that is all it takes.”

This budding professional believes in this quote which has become her motto “Behind every great success, there was a greater sacrifice” and with that in mind she urge every girl and woman out there to step up and go after their livelihoods in the ICT field.

Amrita Ramnauth

This petite, simple but yet interesting young lady is a third year student reading for her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

At first, she was intimidated by the large male population of students in the Computer Science course but has since overcome that hurdle.

Ramnauth told the Sunday Chronicle that there are only three females in her class and she felt out of place being there in that group that is dominated by men but decided she will not be deterred in any way.

She noted that it is not easy but all the hard work eventually pays off with self-application to become successful in an ICT career.

This 19-year-old is from a family of three siblings and parents that reside at Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, who is into web programming but is set towards establishing her own business in providing software and game development services.

Ramnauth said with more girls and women in the ICT field it will become more diverse and the opportunities are endless and urged females to get onboard.

Girls in ICT 2017 will be observed on April 27, under the theme “Expanding horizons, changing minds”.
‘Girls in ICT’ is a global initiative spearheaded by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to raise awareness of the need for more women to become involved in the ICT sector worldwide.
It provides an opportunity to inspire girls and young women to get involved in the sector by listening to women role models.