The first Somali STEM Summit officially kicks off in Mogadishu

The first ever Somali STEM Summit kicks off today in the Somali capital Mogadishu with the hope of bringing together Somali intellectuals and young people across the country to discuss STEM opportunities and how the development of these subjects can lead Somalia to a prosperous future. 

This summit is organized and hosted by the Somali STEM Society in collaboration with Hano Academy, the Next Einstein Forum; the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences; and the Institute for Education and Development (IED). 

Somali medical doctors, scientists, technologists, engineers; mathematicians, STEM students, academicians and researchers from within the country and across the globe turned out in large numbers for the start of the three-day long STEM summit. 

Somalia’s Education Minister, H.E. Abdirahman Dahir Osman who has been among the high profile government officials attended the event commended the organizer’s efforts in creating such a space for Somalia’s next generation of scientists and engineers. 

"This STEM summit is highly needed at this point in time for Somalia's economic and social development. It also instills interest of learning about engineering, science and math fields in the minds of Somali youths. I commend Dr Sadiyo Siad and her team, Somali STEM Society for making this happen" the education minister said in his opening remarks. 

Former Education Minister of Somalia Dr. Abdinur Mohamud, Dr. Hodan S. Isse who’s a Central Bank of Somalia Board member and Dr. Ali S. Fiqi, Somali Ambassador to Belgium, Nederland and Luxemburg were among the prominent panelists and guest speakers who lectured at Jazeera Hotel that has hosted the first day of the event. 

"The reason we are holding this Somali STEM Summit is to create a platform that enhances knowledge and skills of our aspiring scientists and technologists. Another aim is to shed light on the importance of STEM for the advancement of our country in terms of industrial development and job creation opportunities for our young people.” Dr. Sadiyo Siad, the summit organizer, said while welcoming hundreds of attendees to the event. 

"My dream is the next Albert Einstein to be an African, a Somali" Dr. Siad has enthusiastically concluded. 

Interesting panel discussions were focused on diverse topic ranging from innovation to patent and challenges facing Somalia’s STEM education and its historical perspectives. 

Car Accident Detector

Eng . Farhia Abdala Mohamud, a graduate student at Hormuud University was among today’s guest speakers. The electrical engineer, Farhia Mohamud shared with the attendees that she is currently developing an electronic device that tracks cars, detects car accidents and notifies to the nearest emergency centers. Eng Mohamud grasps the attention and interest of technology and science experts attended at the summit with its mind blowing idea. 

Hormuud Telecom Company pledges to support and help Fardowsa convert her idea into fully functioning one. Attendees applauded when Hormuud announced the news. Somali STEM Summit gave an opportunity to present her projects and get sponsorship for her innovative idea. 

Expert Speakers At A Glance

Dr. Hodan S. Isse

Dr. Hodan S. Isse is a Central Bank of Somalia Board member and a former clinical Assistant Professor Emeritus of Finance in the School of Management at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Hodan has extensive background in monetary and fiscal policy, financial modeling, and forecasting. Her area of expertise include concentration and knowledge of the role of government in setting fiscal and monetary policies to achieve economic growth, full employment, and stable price levels and functioning financial institutions. Dr. Isse’s research focuses on the problems and the potential of effective federal, regional and commercial banks of Somalia. She outlined the important characteristics of a working fiscal federalism in Somalia.

Dr. Abdinur Mohamud

Dr. Abdinur Mohamud is a former Minister of Education, Culture and Higher Education of the Transitional Government of Somalia in 2010-2011. Dr. Mohamud is a former educational consultant with the Ohio Department of Education and is now with the Institute for Education and Development. Dr. Mohamud earned a bachelor’s of Science degree in Mathematics and a minor in Physics at College of Education of the Somali National University before pursuing a doctorate in Education Administration at Ohio University.

Mr. Asad Qasim 

Mr. Qasim was a maintenance engineer at oil and Gas Company in Norway as a quality control troubleshooter for subsea technology. Dr. Qasim is also a technical tutor/lecturer at technical college in Norway and teaching TVET since 2011. Dr. Qasim teaches courses at both the technical college and adult education program. Subjects taught include electrical, electronics, renewable energy / solar and wind systems, smart technology like automation, robotics, drones etc.

Dr. Ali S. Faqi 

Dr. Ali S. Faqi is the Somali Ambassador to Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg (Benelux) and European Union since June 2013. He served as the Somali Ambassador to France until November 2016. He is also the Somali Representative to ACP in Belgium, UNESCO in Paris and the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the Hague-Netherlands. Dr. Faqi served as an Interim Chief of Staff for the Somali President during the transition period (February- April, 2017). 

Dr. Faqi was a Sr. Director of the Department of Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology at MPI Research from June 2003- April 2017; a Research Institute specialized in conducting Nonclinical Research for Drugs and Vaccines used for Human Health. Dr. Faqi is a renowned scientist in the field of Birth Defect, and Reproduction. Dr. Faqi holds a doctor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine from the Somali National University, Diploma of Specialization in Experimental Pharmacology from the University of Milan and a PhD in Toxicology from the University of Leipzig. He is a Diplomate of American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and a Fellow Academy of Toxicological Sciences (FATS). 

Mr. Ali Omar 

Ali Omar has a Master’s of Business Administration from California State University, Fresno in collaboration with Somali Institute of Development Administration and Management (SIDAM) and Bsc in Electrical Engineering from Somali National University, Mogadishu-Somalia. He has worked in the information technology field for over 30 years. Starting as teaching assistant and progressing to lecturer at SIDAM. Ali Omar briefly relocated to Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and worked IKEA as an Accounting Information Technology specialist in 1992 before Ali Omar moved to Raleigh, NC USA in 1995. Ali Omar has worked for International Business Machines (IBM) at Research Triangle Pak, NC 1995 to 2014 and retired from IBM in 2014. In 2014 Ali Omar returned to Somalia and joined FGS to support the recovery process and become chief of staff of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed. Ali Omar is currently a member of Somali Federal Parliament and likes to do volunteer work in the community

Dr. Aweys Omar Mohamoud 

Dr. Aweys Omar Mohamoud is an educationist, language trainer and consultant. He has earned a Masters Degree and a PhD from the UCL Institute of Education, University of London. Dr. Mohamoud is a currently a Change Management Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE).

Mr. Faadil Siyaad 

Faadil Siyaad is a professional digital artist and programmer. He is the co-leader of PDT, a team of artists and programmers for hire. They collectively program flash games, html interactive interfaces and create artworks and banners for companies. Faadil is extremely knowledgeable in the following programing languages--Python, C++, SQL and Java. Faadil founded the PDT (Plugin Development Team) with a colleague at the summer of 2013. At 2018, Faadil and his team has been able to recruit several gift artists, some which are skilled in fine art, printmaking and design technology. They also have talented programmers who have worked on other official projects. Moreover, Faadil has sold various artworks, which range in game concept art and company banners, his work can be found at deviantart.com. Presently, the PDT are working on lucrative projects such as web design, software and Indie games,

Prof. Yasin M. Barqadle 

Professor Barqadle is a Computer and Electronics Engineer by training and worked in the field Information Technology (IT) for decades. He taught Information Technology and Information Security courses at universities in the US. Professor Barqadle served as a senior Patent Examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He has examined over thousand patents and issued several hundred patents belonging to well known tech companies

Eng. Farhia Abdalla Mohamud 

Eng.Farhia Abdalla Mohamud is a graduate student at Hormuud University, Faculty of Engineering Department of electrical Engineering this year. Farhia took part a lot of projects related her career in Engineering and technology especially Department of electric.

Eng. Zahra Abdikarim Ibrahim 

Eng. Zahra Abdikarim Ibrahim is Founder of Bilan Codes, Aflix Portal & SOTEC Inc. Mss Ibrahim is an award winning technology entrepreneur, lecturer, software developer. She did her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Science and Technology, Sana’a – Yemen. She is the founder of SOSTEC Inc and Bilan Codes, a non-profit organization which empower young girls in Somalia with the computing skills and necessary tools for innovation & startups.

Fardowso Abdulkadir Abdi 

Fardowsa is a passionate girl who loves to challenge the odds and do what girl others may hesitate to do due to cultural barriers. She understands the importance of being an electrical engineer. Electricity in Somalia is very expensive and she hopes one-day she can contribute to improve lives of many by raising awareness and reducing electrical accidents that is the root cause of house fires in Mogadishu. She also has a passion for telecommunication engineering. Her thesis was improving accidents awareness in Mogadishu Somalia.

Dr Asha Omar Ahmed 

Dr Asha Omar Ahmed, born in Mogadishu, Somalia. She obtained her degree in Medicine and a PhD in Gynaecology at La Sapienza University in Rome. She is the winner of international awards and is actively involved in fighting against the genital mutilation of women. She opened a treatment and prevention centre for women with pregnancies that were at risk and for children with congenital malformations. To help her people, Asha has also kept links with her Italian colleagues in Rome and Chieti where she often sends her patients when more complicated surgery is needed. She subsequently had to move to Djibouti where she has been working as a gynaecologyst and has also been in charge of training medical staff and midwives coping with scarce equipment in often desperate situations. She recognized Angel of Mogadishu who raised Martini hospital from the ruins of war. She also helps the Somali national army, renewing the first department in Xoog.

PHOTO GALLERY (Day 1):