Tech Girls

Santa Sabina Techgirls Aditi Kamath, Isabella Yang, Tanisha Chari and Carmel Mayo recently won the annual Techgirls competition and were invited to the Microsoft flagship headquarters in North Sydney. Below is their report:

As part of the TechGirls competition, we designed, developed and marketed an app to solve a problem in our community. TechGirls is an amazing extracurricular that we recommend to students who want to share their ideas with professionals and industry. It is an opportunity to work with friends, peers or meet new people and learn more about the technology world, including how to code, make prototypes and wireframes and even make effective pitches. Our app, FlavourSaver, was designed to reduce global food waste by allowing for easy tracking and reminders of expiry dates, as well as integrated digital shopping lists, recipes and food-donation centres tailored to the needs of household members.

After winning the Secondary division, we were invited to attend a day of activities run by Microsoft and the Tech Girls team. We were able to pitch our app, FlavourSaver, to a panel of female industry experts, and gain first-hand knowledge and advice about technology. We were then given the opportunity to discover the technology workforce and even tour the Microsoft North Sydney Office. 

We started off with a tour of the office, where we were able to view very high-tech rooms and materials used to promote their products. For instance, the company has an Xbox room solely for testing upcoming products that their clients aim to produce. We were incredibly impressed and excited about this as all of us had grown up with these products, so it was a very special moment. We were also able to view other rooms and areas that are specifically catered to the needs of the staff, such as break rooms equipped with gaming consoles, meditation and prayer rooms, alongside a small canteen. It was also interesting to hear about the landscaping of their office, and how it simultaneously reflects Indigenous culture and promotes productivity. 

After touring the office, we had the opportunity to hear female staff discuss their experiences in the technology industry. We covered a variety of topics such as university pathways, the different sectors of the industry, and what each sector covers and promotes. This was very inspiring and informative as most of us aim to work in industries involving technology. 

Finally, we got to pitch our ideas to one another. There were so many social issues discussed and unique solutions developed as a result. It was really inspiring to see young women in STEM and the future of the tech industry working towards gender equality in a profession that has historically been so male-dominated. Hearing these other women and their solutions are very valuable to us as young women in STEM. 

A huge thank you to Ms Poynting for guiding us throughout our project and Ms Pugh for accompanying us to Microsoft! Your support is very valuable to us and much appreciated.

Jacqueline Pugh
Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning