Nomusa Keninda

General Info

What will be your most valuable contribution to your TechWomen mentorship?

I work with schoolteachers and students from rural and urban schools and my role is to empower them to use digital technologies in education. I established a DigiGirlz Initiative to empower girls in STEM careers under the theme of Positive Personal Branding. I encourage and connect these girls to young female professionals for further career guidance. Learning about what I do through DigiGirlz can encourage others to start to nurture the pipeline.

The Top Three Things I Would Like to Learn or Experience During my Mentorship

1. Use of AI and digital tools in the classroom.
2. Public speaking and team leader skills.
3. Monitoring and evaluation of programs for improvement.

Mentorship Characteristic

• Visit an office or attend a site-visit
• Participate in a skills-building course, either provided by my mentor’s company or identify a free resource online
• Identify workshops or certificate programs to further my learning after the program has ended
• Expand on a project that I’m working on in my current role at home
• Exposes me to new tools and platforms

Ideal Company Type

I am a Senior Education Specialist responsible for e-Learning in my department. I facilitate training sessions to introduce teachers and learners to various digital technologies in education including coding and robotics curriculum. I therefore request to be placed to companies that develop and distribute such digital technologies to educational institutions and those which deals with training of teachers or kids to digital tools such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Coding, Robotics in education. I would like to understand the challenges and success of their products delivery and future collaboration.

What are three adjectives that best describe you in the work place?

1. Enthusiastic
2. Patience
3. Independent

What impact will your mentorship have on your career and professional path?

I will be empowered to expand on my projects, employ other skill sets that I could gain from this collaboration with a U.S. based mentor. I will also expand my network and connections through this mentorship. As I will soon be completing my Master's degree, I will need support in terms of my social platforms to share my findings and recommendations from my minor dissertation and be on the way to complete my PHD in future. More than anything, from the TechWomen program, I hope to learn from my peers, their struggles and successes, to gain the most knowledge while working alongside fellow emerging leaders.

After participating in the TechWomen program, how will you leverage your mentorship experience to make an impact in your home country?

I am hoping that after my mentorship with TechWomen, my work will be known widely and I ,can begin to mentor other young women who look up to me for guidance in STEM fields. I hope to continue to inspire them even beyond this point in their careers and create an awareness of the TechWomen program back in my home country. I will also be available in the future to collaborate with fellow TechWomen alumnae back in my country and beyond, reaching further past the boundaries of my own country.

Work History

Years of Full-time Work Experience

29

Primary Professional Focus

• Educational technology
• Overseeing the delivery of technology products

Education History