Charity Chao Mbogo
Charity Chao Mbogo, a Kenyan PhD Computer Science student at the University of Cape Town, has been awarded the Google Anita Borg Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to female undergraduates and postgraduates from around the world who show exceptional academic and leadership skills.
Charity holds an MSc in Computer Science from the University of Oxford, which was funded by a full scholarship from Shell Centenary Foundation and a BSc in Mathematics and Computer Science from Kenya Methodist University. She is currently working in the ICT4D research field with specific interest in use of ICTs and Mobiles in Education.
Her current research is on providing scaffolding (support) to write Java programs on a mobile phone; her target being new learners of programming. Her PhD is being funded by a scholarship from the Hasso Plattner Institute. Prior to commencing the PhD, she was a head of department at the department of Computer Information Systems at Kenya Methodist University (Nairobi Campus).
Charity had this to say about being awarded the scholarship “The Google Anita award is such an honor. It is one of those experiences that leave you speechless for days. I encourage all the ladies in Computer Science to apply apply apply each year and not give up. This goes not just to ladies, but to everyone and not just for this particular scholarship but also any other opportunities that would put you on the map. I am deeply humbled to be one of the recipients this year.”
Previous Kenyan recipients of the Google Anita Borg Scholarship are: Jackline Mutua (2013), Caroline Muthambiri (2011) and Shikoh Gitau (2010).
Full list of The 2014 Google Anita Borg Scholarship Recipients EMEA