For the second consecutive year, Cisco Spain has proudly joined forces with the Technovation Girls program, with a shared vision to revolutionize innovation and education for young girls globally.
This remarkable partnership, initiated by the Spanish Cisco WOC Community (Women of Cisco), has thrived with sponsorship from Mayte Marquez of the CX EMEA Talent Apprentice Incubator and the outstanding and constant support of Andreu Vilamitjana and his leadership team. Also, this year the project has counted on the support of Cisco’s CDA (Cisco Digital Acceleration) Program. The CDA aims to create sustainable, secure, and inclusive communities through collaboration with governments and the public sector.
Technovation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering young girls to become tech leaders through innovative programs that combine technology, entrepreneurship, and mentorship. Targeted at girls aged 8 to 18, the program involves 12 weeks of assignments where participants, guided by mentors, develop projects addressing real-world societal issues. The competition culminates in a global contest, with the top 15 projects competing in a final pitch in San Francisco.
Each region has its own finals to access to the international competition. Here some numbers from the Spain regional final held last month in Madrid:
- Over 850 girls
- 400 mentors
- 200 judges
- 218 projects
- 24 teams advancing to international finals
These impressive numbers showcase how Technovation has become a leading platform, introducing young female students to the vast opportunities in technology and innovation. The program emphasizes inclusivity, reaching out to increasingly diverse and often underserved rural communities each year.
At the regional finals, Cisco organized four teams comprising 14 young students (ages 10-15) and 11 Cisco mentors. The detailed breakdown is:
- 4 Cisco Teams
- 14 Girls (ages 10-15)
- 11 Cisco Mentors
What drives this tremendous achievement?
It’s the commitment, passion for innovation, education, and the ambition to transform perceptions in a traditionally male-dominated field, making it accessible to all. Cisco has always championed a concept of technology that transcends gender, where ideas are paramount. Inclusion and innovation are integral to Cisco’s strategy. Through technologies and training programs like NetAcademy, which has trained over 20,5 million people globally from its start in 1197, Cisco aims to foster a more inclusive future for everyone.
During the 12-week assignments, Cisco mentors encouraged the young girls to develop tech-based solutions to real-world problems, offering Cisco’s expertise and mentorship. The girls brought their creativity, curiosity, and passion, and together, they worked on turning their ideas into reality.
Notable projects by Cisco-supported teams this year included:
- Applications to detect fake news, promoting unbiased and authoritative information.
- Sustainable farmer markets app to get closer farmers and potential customers, preserving our ecosystem by buying vegetables and food from locals.
- Language-focused projects, facilitating integration in schools and international communities.
- Distribution of chore tasks via a digital application based on skills and gender to give visibility on task owenership in school, household and shares house environments.
These projects focus on both environmental and social sustainability, demonstrating how technology can bridge gaps and create impactful solutions.
Cisco Spain colleagues supported these young students, providing valuable professional and interpersonal skills to help bring the girls’ ideas to fruition. This journey enriched both the students and mentors. As Alba reflects, “It’s wonderful to see the new generation so engaged with social and environmental issues. It fills us with pride to witness their practical efforts to implement projects that benefit everyone.”
It’s always exciting to see our colleagues being proactive and enthusiastic about participating in initiatives that support the new generation. They help young female students dream of educational paths without gender barriers. Even today, especially in the more rural areas of the country, there is a perception that scientific subjects are predominantly male. This collaboration aims to debunk false myths and make technology and science accessible to everyone.
Let’s help together the new generations to write their own future, genderless.
