What is Technovation?

Technovation is a global education nonprofit that empowers girls ages 8-18 to identify community problems and create tech and engineering solutions that develop their leadership and creative problem-solving skills.

Technovation Girls welcomes and embraces all female-identifying participants, all transgender participants, and those who identify as non-binary or gender non-conforming and want to be part of a female-identified environment.

Watch this video to learn more about Technovation

What is the time commitment?

Girls work on their projects for 2 to 4 hours a week for 12 or more weeks, typically investing a total of 40-60 hours in the program. If a girl is participating with a local Chapter or Club, she will follow their timeline. For girls working independently, we recommend starting by mid-January at the latest. Project submissions are due in mid-April each year.

How much does it cost?

Technovation Girls is a free technology-based program for girls ages 8 - 18.

Is the program in-person or virtual?

It can be either or both. Depending on the location and our Chapter Ambassadors (Technovation program leaders) meetings can be online and/or in person.

What kind of activities would my daughter be involved in?

Working in teams of 1 to 5 Technovation Girls students create app or AI-based solutions, following Technovation’s curriculum to solve community problems using technology.

Girls will:

• Identify a problem that matters to their community
• Build a mobile app or AI prototype that solves the problem.
• Develop other essential skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, and leadership
• Learn about entrepreneurship and create a plan to bring their app or AI to the real world
• Pitch their ideas in a global competition for a chance to win scholarships and more
• Collaborate with peers and learn from industry mentors

For more details watch this Program Overview.

What are Technovation’s age range divisions?

• Beginner division - Girls ages 8-12
• Junior division - Girls ages 13-15
• Senior division - Girls ages 16-18

Note that the team division is determined based on the oldest girl on the team. 

2024 Program Timeline and Key Dates

• January 31st: 12 Weeks to Submission Deadline
• April 24th: Submission Deadline
• May -July: Judging
• July: Finalists and Regional Winners are announced
• October: Technovation World Summit

Click here and review the Program Timeline throughout the year.

Where can my daughter sign up?

If you and your daughter are interested in joining Technovation please register here.

Parent Consent 

To register for Technovation Girls, all students must have their parent/guardian give consent officially to compete in Technovation. Consent to participate is REQUIRED while the media consent is optional (but highly encouraged if possible to help share awesome stories from girls around the world!). When girls create accounts, a Parent Consent form will be sent to their parents. Students can also upload a picture of a printed paper consent form to their student dashboard on the platform.

These forms are necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of children and young people under 18 and protect their rights and privacy.

We strongly recommend parents get involved in establishing communication channels between their daughters, other students, their parents, and volunteers at Technovation.

The parent or teacher must monitor all communication Technovation volunteers have with students. You can create a messaging group that includes the mentor, parents, and the teacher.

Volunteer Code of Conduct

To ensure the safety of its participants, all Technovation volunteers including Chapter and Club Ambassadors, mentors, and judges, need to follow Technovation’s Volunteer Code of Conduct.

We ask all volunteers to contribute to creating a safe, secure environment for young people participating in any Technovation programs. This includes preparation to engage with participants virtually and/or in person by:

• Registering as a volunteer, mentor, or judge with Technovation
• Completing all training that Technovation provides

Read the Safety Policy here.

If you have any questions regarding these resources or need additional resources, please feel free to email [email protected].

Support, guide, and celebrate!

Every parent has a role to play. It might simply be cheerleading or talking with your daughter about their project at dinner. The most important role you play is to be your daughter’s champion. Someone who believes in them and who will be there to support them in any way you can.

Help your daughter find a mentor 

Virtual mentors can be found using your Technovation Girls account. Just log in, navigate to the Team Building section, and explore different ways to find mentors (close to your location or use other filters).

If your daughter is participating in the Beginner division, it is important that you as a parent take the lead in finding and reaching out to potential virtual mentors as well. Determine the best form of communication for you, your daughter (team), and their virtual mentor (ex. email, WhatsApp, text, etc.) We recommend using web conferencing/video chat to get to know your virtual mentor, team members, and hold weekly meetings.

Become a mentor!

This is for parents who choose to actively mentor their daughter (and her team, if she is working in one). While being a mentor, you can guide your daughter and her team to find solutions to their challenges!

Mentors help their teams set and achieve goals, resolve conflicts, and tackle big community problems. Over time, this support and encouragement helps mentees develop greater confidence in themselves and their work. For young people especially, mentors can act as role models, modeling skills like problem-solving, time management, empathy, and resilience.

If you would like to mentor your daughter and/or her team please visit our Mentor Resource Page and learn all about it!

Explore helpful organizational tips here and start supporting your daughter in her learning process.

As a mentor, you have the potential to receive the support of a local Chapter or Club Ambassador who can guide you through the season where applicable.

Resources for supporting your children as learners

Feel inspired

• Come together with your family to watch the CodeGirl Documentary.
• Check out the Technovation Gallery to see what other girls have done.

Support the learning journey

1. Check out this playlist on Youtube to learn more about how to support your daughter in building STEM skills
2. Check out our Family Workbooks:

• Thought provoking questions 
• Confronting Failure.

Spanish version:

• Preguntas que incitan el pensamiento
• Enfrentar el fracaso

Want to share a translation of one or more of these resources with us? Email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Parent Resource Translation” and we’ll copy and link it to the resource so even more parents can access it!

Tech Resources

• What is Thunkable?

Thunkable is a no-code platform that makes it possible to create custom, native mobile applications for Android, iOS, and the Web.

Explore Thunkable Docs and get Instructions on how to build different components

• What is App Inventor?

App Inventor lets you develop applications for Android phones using a web browser and a connected phone. If you don't have an Android phone, you can build your apps using the Android emulator, software that runs on your computer and behaves just like the phone.

• Venturelab

Whether you’re an educator, parent, or student, discover entrepreneurship and engineering tools, activities, and guides designed to empower the next generation of diverse innovators and changemakers.

• Visit our Frequently Ask Questions page
• Email us at [email protected]