Nenne Adaora Nwodo (who fondly likes to be called Adora), is a Software Engineer based in Lagos, Nigeria. She currently works at Microsoft where she builds Cloud Services related to Artificial Intelligence and Mixed Reality. She is also the Vice President of the Nigerian chapter for VRARA Association. Her work there involves creating more awareness for Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies.
In 2018, she created a blog called AdoraHack where she publishes articles on Software Engineering, Productivity & Career Growth. In June 2019, she created a YouTube channel for AdoraHack where she posts tech content that could be useful to Software Developers.
In March 2021, she won the Young CISO Network Excellence in Disruptive Technology, Cloud and Embedded Device Security Award for her work in building and advocating for Disruptive Technology on the Cloud.
Adora spends a lot of her time on Twitter and LinkedIn sharing about her experience as a woman in tech. She is extremely passionate about the developer community in Nigeria and is trying to drive inclusion for women in technology. She co-organises community events for unStack Africa, contributes to Open Source, and speaks at technology conferences worldwide.
Did you always want to be a software engineer?
My first interaction with a computer was when I was 7 years old. I started by making movie screenplays and business cards with Microsoft PowerPoint and CorelDraw respectively. At some point as well, I got introduced to the internet, and I discovered that technology was very exciting. I literally spent a lot of my childhood in front of a desktop computer.
This was how I got into tech. Because I found it exciting, I started reading about computers and I discovered programming. I was also taking my ICT classes seriously at school, and I got a computer science degree. This led to my Software Engineering career.
Why the choice of Microsoft and experience so far?
Microsoft came last minute. I was thinking about getting a master’s degree around that time. I chose to stay because I felt it was a good opportunity and I would be working on building innovative technology for the whole world.
Are Nigerians embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
In some way, yes. There are a lot of young people trying to become AI Engineers, Machine learning engineers and Data scientists. They are building products that are focused on this technology. Businesses are also adopting chatbots for their customer support and this is an AI product. I’ve also seen people use smart assistants and investment products powered by AI.
Read Also: Nigeria in dire need of data analysts, software engineers, others
What does building cloud services entail?
Cloud services are products that can be delivered to customers on the internet. This means you’d write the code that you would expect to deploy to the cloud. To build cloud services, you need knowledge of the concepts of cloud computing, cloud providers and cloud offerings. It’s also important to build expertise in one or more programming languages used on the cloud.
Is AI the future?
No. However, I believe that its adoption will change the way we work, play and go about our lives. There are a lot of innovative technologies and research being done in the fields of Artificial intelligence, Blockchain technology, Mixed reality, Quantum computing and more.
On VRARA, share on being VP of the Nigerian chapter
The VR/AR Association (VRARA) is an international organisation designed to foster collaboration between solution providers and end-users that accelerates growth and builds the virtual and Augmented Reality ecosystem.
Being on the advisory board for the Nigerian chapter, the major focus first for us is to preach to everyone about these cool technologies called AR & VR.
How are you creating more awareness for Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies?
I do so by organising VR/AR focused events with amazing speakers, planning hackathons, speaking at events and spotlighting the work that VR/AR organisations are doing for the rest of the world to see.
Winning the Young CISO Network Excellence in Disruptive Technology, Cloud and Embedded Device Security Award, for your work in building and advocating for disruptive technology on the Cloud.
It was shocking to me, but I was also excited. I got a direct message from a member of the Young CISO Network, about wanting to nominate me for the Young CISO of the year award because of my Instagram posts and conference talks on cloud security. It was exciting, so I accepted the challenge.
I ended up getting the recognition for Excellence in Disruptive Technology, Cloud and Embedded Device Security.
How are you driving inclusion for women in technology?
I do so by organising, speaking and sponsoring women focused tech events.
Co-organising community events and impact so far
I co-organise events for unStack Africa, and I’ve been a part of other communities in the past. We’ve seen these events spark excitement and enthusiasm for young people. This has led to more people wanting to start their careers in tech.
Your book, Cloud Engineering For Beginners, reason for it, and being #1 new release on Amazon Kindle’s 90-Minute Education & Reference Short Reads
Cloud Engineering for Beginners, is a book for people trying to start their cloud engineering careers. The cloud has become a very integral part of software engineering, and it’s also the foundation for a lot of today’s innovative technology. The book introduces the reader to the concept of the cloud, it’s importance, the roles of a cloud engineer, how to pick a cloud engineering career path and how to succeed in that career.
When I was writing this, I took a historical approach and wrote about what existed before, what exists now, and where technology is going. I also talked about the concepts of the cloud I misunderstood because of how they are vaguely defined online, and explained them in ways that would make more sense to people that don’t have experience in the field.
My new book has been the #1 New Release on Amazon Kindle’s 90-Minute Education & Reference Short Reads, and I’m excited about that because I didn’t imagine that many Kindle readers would pre order this book. As a matter of fact, I almost didn’t publish the book on Kindle, it was a last minute decision, and I’m glad I did. I believe people appreciate the fact that a book like this exists, and I truly hope that after reading, people go further to apply what
They have learnt in their careers.
What next feat are you looking forward to achieving?
I really don’t know yet. I’m focusing on selling my Cloud Engineering book and I’m excited for the readers that begin their cloud engineering careers because of the book. If my book is able to impact people and help them start their careers, it would be a big win for me. I’m really excited about my new book and where my career is going, and I hope my story can motivate someone to do what they want to do
