ITAG Career Fair Event
Friday 12th March 2021
Virtually on Zoom
Introduction
ITAG as the voice of ICT in The Gambia organized the virtual career fair to not only introduce students to the new and emerging areas of technology, but to also feature Gambians working in this sector to inspire and encourage students to delve into this sector. Some of the areas that were highlighted included Data Science, Security Analysis, Security Auditing, IOT, Software Development, Quality Assurance, UI/ UX Designer, Cloud Management and Architecture, Frontend Developer, Backend Developer.
ITAG hosted the CAREER FAIR to
- give students the opportunity to explore diverse career paths outside the norm and
- to highlight how one can diversify or even change career paths and incorporate Tech in what they want to study and
- venture into the professional world of IT and Tech as well as
- establish professional relationships and discuss potential job or internship opportunities in the Gambia.
The attendees present were a cross section of our membership which included students, educationalists, IT professionals, cooperates and SME Corporate members.
The event was graced by 6 IT professionals as our panelists and these panelists were
- Kumbale Goode
- Hassan Jallow
- Harriet Abiosseh Ashcroft
- Muhammed Kah.
- Mustapha Kebbeh
- Gilleh Thomas
Kumbale talked about her career path and her move from software developer to Quality Assurance Manager and how this choice expanded her knowledge in IT. As a relatively new area in tech in The Gambia, Kumbale advised students interested in the field to explore, be patient and always document and detail.
Hassan Jallow talked about his journey to becoming a software engineer. Hassan shared his story on how he did not complete his degree studies at university but now runs his own software development firm. His advice to students was to follow your passion, to explore and seek professional advice as well as research, research, research.
Harriet Abiosseh Ashcroft told the participants how she diverted from studying Biology to becoming a self-taught Software engineer currently working at Netflix. Her journey to the IT world started out of curiosity and given that technology satisfied her curiosity and answered all her questions, it kept her motivated and it became easier for her as it was a natural fit.
Gilleh Thomas, a data scientist currently working with the MRC Data Management team shared his journey into Data Management. He intimated the huge amounts of data being created in Gambia at the public and private sector level and how this data is currently not being utilized. He shared how as a data scientist, he uses industry knowledge to find trends and manage data. In so doing, he further shared information on how technology is used in data extraction, transformation and data exploration.
Muhammed Kah a Graphics Designer shared his story on how he became a UI/UX designer and how he creates and designs animation as well as being a social media marketer. He talked about the challenges faced by IT professionals, especially about the social media handles and how designing has helped create connections between brands and people. Muhammed also mentors and trains in his free time.
Mustapha Kebbeh a seasoned and certified CISO in Cybersecurity, shared his experiences and motivations that led to him working in the area of cybersecurity. His work is to monitor IT systems for threats by securing, establishing protocols, identifying and neutralizing threats as well as coming up with ways to block threats. He spoke briefly about hacking and talked about the pros and cons of hacking.
The event ended with a short synopsis by the ITAG President. The event did not only benefit our student membership but also our IT Professional members.
