Francis Xavier Inyangat
Age: 22 | Location: Kampala, Uganda | Pronouns: he/him
Xavier is a final year student of Computer Engineering. He is a Generation Connect Africa Youth Envoy at UN-ITU, Internet Governance Fellow at Internet Society, STEM Educator and a volunteer Alumni Network Committee Lead with the Mastercard Foundation in Uganda. He is a tenacious advocate for active participation and meaningful engagement of young people using technology to reinvigorate entrepreneurship and education
Q+A: Francis Xavier Inyangat on leveraging technology to innovate solutions, his hopes for the Summit, and the opportunities STEM presents youth…
If you had infinite time, money and resources to solve just one global challenge, what would it be, and why?
Reduce the digital divide. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existing inequalities in connectivity and digital skills, and exposed the wide gap in technological infrastructure development. Statistically over 4 billion people worldwide do not have internet access. This is such an astounding fact I would spend the rest of my life solving.
How did you get involved in STEM?
I got involved in STEM because I wanted to leverage technology to provide solutions to the world, driven by desire to make sustainable change. Whereas I was active in high school with science innovations, my journey with technology started to take shape when I joined university to pursue an engineering course.
If you could share one tip for someone who's new to making a difference through STEM, what would it be?
STEM is a haven for opportunity, innovation and the potential is unlimited. The field is very diverse, and fluid. STEM is dynamically evolving and whoever wants to stay on top of the game, you have to play by the rules and adopt the emerging technologies.
How do you think STEM is impacting your community?
STEM is providing innovative solutions for social entrepreneurs, educationists and engineers. Farmers are using STEM tools like robots to automate harvesting and weeding of crops, journalists are using drones for news reporting, teachers are no longer using abacus but rather cyber school software, and supermarkets are now cashless. STEM is everywhere in my community.
What do you hope that the Youth STEM Summit will achieve in terms of empowering youth globally to tackle the world's biggest challenges, and why do you think this is important?
The summit is for youth to connect, learn and get inspired to tap into the unlimited gold mine of opportunities that STEM presents. It is a platform for the underrepresented youth voices in STEM to be heard and listened to. I hope for a summit where the youth milestones are celebrated and recognized globally, a summit where other stakeholders show their full support and commitment in accelerating STEM education, innovation, and research.
What are you most excited for about the Youth STEM Summit?
Imagine a conference by young people for young people to share and learn from STEM - the Youth STEM Summit is the largest international gathering of young scientists, technologists, engineers and innovators that I know about to learn and inspire each other!