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One hundred and thirty-five girls from public secondary schools across Lagos have developed artificial intelligence-powered tools tackling issues including bullying, student safety and access to education through Tech4Dev’s maiden AI Inter-District Secondary School Challenge. Organised under the Tech Girls Drive Advocacy programme of the Women Techsters initiative, the competition brought together students from 27 public secondary schools across Lagos Education Districts II and IV, where they received practical AI training before designing projects inspired by challenges within their schools and communities.
The initiative began with advocacy sessions in 31 public secondary schools before 27 schools advanced to the competition. Each participating school nominated five girls, from Junior Secondary School 1 to Senior Secondary School 3, to work alongside teachers and volunteer mentors. Rather than building projects solely for competition, the participants were encouraged to identify challenges within their schools and communities before using artificial intelligence to develop practical responses that could improve everyday life. The competition concluded with a grand finale where six finalist teams presented projects focused on learning accessibility, student welfare, safety and bullying.
Mende Junior High School emerged overall winner with Learning Without Limits, an AI-powered platform designed to improve learning for deaf and hard of hearing students. The platform converts classroom notes into sign language videos, simplified visual explanations, subtitles and voice narration, making classroom content more accessible while helping remove communication barriers that often prevent students with hearing disabilities from participating fully in classroom learning.
Second place went to Onike Girls Junior High School for Onike Girls Alarm Station, a personal safety application featuring a one-touch emergency alert system and live GPS tracking that allows users to quickly notify trusted contacts during emergencies, including in areas with poor network coverage. The project was developed in response to concerns about student safety and the need for faster access to help during emergencies.
Mende Senior High School secured third place with SpeakSafe, an anonymous AI-powered reporting platform that enables students to report bullying without fear while helping schools identify recurring patterns and respond before situations escalate.
Beyond the winning entries, other participating schools developed projects addressing gender based violence, adolescent health, environmental sustainability, financial literacy, unemployment, educational access and social inclusion, demonstrating how the students applied artificial intelligence to challenges they recognised within their own schools and communities.
Speaking during the event, Tech4Dev’s Country Manager for Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa, Abraham Akpan, said the initiative was designed to help girls see themselves as innovators capable of creating solutions with lasting impact.
“This challenge was about more than learning Artificial Intelligence. It was about helping young girls see themselves as creators, innovators and problem-solvers. When girls are given access to the right skills and opportunities, they can build solutions that create real impact in their communities,” Abraham said.
One of the participants said the challenge changed how she viewed artificial intelligence, adding that working alongside her teammates helped her realise their ideas could become practical solutions to real-life problems. She said the experience inspired her to continue learning and developing technology that could benefit others.
Representing the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mrs Oni commended the initiative for promoting creativity, critical thinking and digital innovation among girls, describing programmes that equip young people with technology skills as important in preparing them for the future. The projects presented during the challenge demonstrated that the students were doing far more than learning how artificial intelligence works. They used the technology to respond to problems they identified in their own schools and communities, from improving access to education for deaf students to developing tools that promote safer school environments and make it easier for students to report bullying.
The AI Inter-District Secondary School Challenge forms part of Tech4Dev’s broader Women Techsters programme, which provides digital skills training for girls and women across 30 African countries. While women and girls remain underrepresented in many areas of technology, the competition highlighted what can happen when young girls are given the opportunity, training and support to innovate. Through projects rooted in the realities of their everyday lives, the participants demonstrated that they are not only learning about emerging technologies but are also capable of building practical tools that respond to the needs of their communities.
