Establish all-female Academies and all-female classes:
ITU and Cisco encourage all-female classes because they create a comfortable learning environment for women and help foster a network of women involved in IT. The following Academies offer all-female classes:
- Ukraine, Head Training Center of Ukrtelecom
- Rwanda, Kigali Institute of Science, Technology, and Management
- India, Cummins College of Engineering for Women
Academies participating in the ITC initiative are encouraged to recruit and train female instructors. These instructors further promote a supportive environment for women and serve as role models to female students. The following academies have especially high participation of female instructors:
- Uganda, Makerere University Department of Women and Gender Studies
- Romania, University of Galati
- Rwanda, Kigali Institute of Science, Technology, and Management
- India, Cummins College of Engineering for Women
- Samoa, National University of Samoa
Female ITC students are often influential in increasing total female enrollment. By sharing their experiences with friends and classmates, they serve as natural recruiters that help to increase awareness and interest in the program. Read about two examples of students who have helped improve female enrollment: Obtain high-level government support:
Support from the local and national government ensures that the program is given the resources to succeed. It also helps to facilitate everyday needs such as equipment shipping and transportation of Academy-related items. Makerere University (link this name to the Academy profile) has been especially successful because of the high-level support and involvement of the Ugandan government.
Offer the Networking Academy program in academic departments where there is already high female enrolment:
Makerere University (link this name to the Academy profile) in Kampala, Uganda was the first institution to establish an Academy within a Gender Studies department. Because efforts within the department had previously focused on political and historical studies, the ITC was introduced in order to give female students tangible technical skills to complement the other topics. This move is also innovative for the ITC initiative: whereas most Academies have been hosted by Computer Science or Engineering departments in which female enrollment in usually low, this effort targets a non-technical degree program where female enrollment is already high. This strategy has been effective in improving female enrolment and providing access to IT learning where it otherwise would not have existed.