Women to Watch 2022
Pathbreaker
Dr Chao Mbogo speaks on career , breaking barriers and mentoring the next generation .
Dr . Chao Mbogho is a multi-award winning Computer Science educator , mentor , speaker , and leader . Her innovation-oriented approach , academic excellence , and leadership expertise have seen her receive over 25 awards , scholarships , and fellowships . Chao was also named as one of the 2017 Quartz Africa Innovators , was selected as a 2017 Techwomen Fellow , and in 2019 , she was recognized by Okay ! Africa as one of 100 women of African descent making an impactful contribution to their communities . Team Kayana had the opportunity to speak with her at our offices about her different project and her journey through career .
Tell us about yourself and the work that you do
I ’ m the C . E . O and founder of KamiLimu , a non-profit organization whose mission is to bridge the skills gap between classroom learning and global competitiveness for tertiary-level tech students in Kenya . I hold a Ph . D . in computer science and so I work in tech , although not as a software engineer but as an educator and mentor . quite an interesting experience there because I met people from all over the world . The gender balance was much better at Oxford . I feel like it helped me grow in confidence as a woman in tech .
What was remarkable is that as I progressed in my career , got my doctorate , and came back home to continue my work in academia , I noticed that there were very few women that had advanced degrees in tech . I could count the number of women who held PhDs in computer science or any tech-related subject . The representation of women in tech academia is low and a lot of girls who come in at the undergraduate level tend to miss out on female role models . But outside academia , I see a lot of effort to get women more involved in tech , whether through womencentric programs or organizations being very deliberate about gender representation .
In 2020 , I became the first Kenyan to receive the prestigious OWSD - Elsevier Award which recognizes outstanding contributions in engineering , innovation , and technology in developing countries . This award recognized my innovation in helping students learn computer programming using their phones , and my mentorship work at KamiLimu . I cherish this award because it not only validated my work in research and mentorship but also gave me a lot of faith and motivation to continue doing the work that I do .
Tech is a male-dominated industry , how was your experience as a female tech leader ?
So in my undergrad , I was the only girl in my class , although I believed in myself and my capacity to be the best computer scientist and programmer , sometimes I felt intimidated by my male classmates . After I graduated , I joined Oxford University for a Master ’ s program and I had
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