Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are subjects that have always been thought to be difficult but vital in this era of the 4^th Industrial Revolution. Is it a matter of attitude, mindset or the way in which content is delivered?

On 08 October 2019, the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) hosted Ms Aisha Bowe, an Aerospace Engineer, Founder, and CEO of STEMBoard, who delivered a Public Lecture on STEM Entrepreneurship. Drawing from her life experiences, she gave an inspirational presentation of how her life unfolded and what she went through to get to where she is today.

Growing up, Ms Bowe said that she didn’t have much and never thought she was going to amount to anything in life. She also did not have dreams and aspirations to attend college as she was not the smart and promising student in high school student until one day, her dad handed her a calculus book he found in the trash and encouraged her to take a mathematics class. “I heed the advice, changed my mindset and excelled in that class. You never really know until you try, and I believe that failure is success in progress.”

Her advice to students is to always seize opportunities that come their way, especially in the technology-driven economy. “Technology is democratising the world each one of you can start a business by finding a good service or product and figure out how to sell it on the internet. Do not wait until you get your degree to start building your financial future and starting a business you can do it now. A degree does not define what you can do in life. Having a technological mindset and merging it with entrepreneurship is the key to the future. As you start to watch the world around you transform, grab that opportunity because anything is possible. Africa is going to be more connected and all those things that are in the U.S, France and other countries are going to come here, and you should be ready to own them.”

Today, Aisha is an aeronautical engineer and entrepreneur managing multi-million-dollar defence contracts and private-sector technology clients. “This unique combination has strengthened my commitment to evangelising the power and unlimited future of science and technology for young woman around the world,” she concluded.

Caption

From left: Mr Chris du Plessis, United States Consulate General Johannesburg; Ms Aisha Bowe, guest speaker, Aerospace Engineer, Founder, and CEO of STEMBoard; Prof. Alfred Ngowi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement; Ms Jenifer Bullock, Public Affairs Officer: American Consulate; Dr Izabeth Conradie, Manager: Idea Generator and Ms Elizabeth Francis, Librarian at Bloemfontein Library.