Championing Girls in IT – Passerelles Numeriques Cambodia

Passerelles Numeriques (PN) is a non-profit IT training center. PN has programs in France, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. PN Cambodia was launched in 2005. The sponsorship are supported by Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), SUPINFO, CISCO, Microsoft, HP, Accenture, Steria, and Osiatis. The center provides 2-year-long, full-time IT training in System & Network Administration (SNA) and Web Programing (WEP) to grade 12 students selected from underprivileged environments or supported by NGOs. The training is very practical, focusing on a strong, company-oriented approach. Study visits and internship programs are included in the training curriculum. In the Cambodia office, PN houses and trains 200 students (50% female students): 100 students in Web Programming and 100 students in System & Network Administration.

PN Cambodia Students Visiting ODC Team’s Workplace

On November 27, 2013, Thunthean Kheve (Company Relation Officer) and Jonathan Faucher (WEP Instructor) of Passerelles Numeriques Cambodia brought a group of 25 IT students to visit the ODC team. We were delighted to receive the curious and enthusiastic group of students. ODC Design Team Leader Huy Eng was especially excited to see that 17 of the 25 students are women. She recalled the Women In Technology workshop, which was organized by the Social Innovation Lab Kampuchea (SILK), and attended by Product Manager of Mozilla Crystal Beastey, earlier this week.  Huy Eng encouraged the students to pursue their dreams. She also shared her own experience of being one of the only 2 female students in a class of more than 50 students while she was pursuing her IT degree.

At ODC, building capacity of young Cambodian researchers, mappers, IT specialists and technocrats is considered a fulfilling endeavor. We enjoy speaking with students, sharing our experience, and learning from them. The study visit ended with a plan for next steps — an opportunity for ODC and PN Cambodia to collaborate. Stay tuned.

More photos can be viewed on ODC’s Flickr account. To request a visit to the ODC office, please contact us.