A brilliant 14-year-old Nigerian girl, Zainab Akintola, has defied expectations by earning 30 certifications in Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning — all before turning 14.
Zainab’s dream of becoming a doctor began when she was just a little girl. Her father, who lovingly called her “Doctor Zainab”, always encouraged her to pursue medicine, emphasizing the need for more Muslim female doctors in Nigeria.
Her academic journey moved faster than norm. With an accelerated education, she completed secondary school at the age of 12.
Confident in her abilities, she sat for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and scored an impressive 262 — a result that qualified her for a medicine program.
However, she was soon disappointed after she was told she that she is yet to meet the age requirement for university admission in Nigeria.
”I was devastated to learn that I couldn’t gain admission due to Nigeria’s 16-year minimum age requirement for university enrollment,” she said.
Rather than let the setback discourage her, Zainab’s father encouraged her to explore software engineering, explaining how AI is revolutionizing healthcare. The idea resonated with her and Zainab decided to give TECH a shot.
Zainab enrolled in several world-renowned programs to develop her tech skills including ALX Software Engineering Program for Front-End Development, Techvinson Academy for Back-End Software Engineering, and KemonAI for AI & Machine Learning Specialization.
‘Deeply Disrespectful,’ Lookman Hits Back At Atalanta Manager
Portable Arrested, Police Confirm Controversial Singer In Custody
‘They Escaped,’ Police Say Suspected Killers of Anambra Lawmaker Flee Custody
She also enrolled in programs at Udemy, RITA Africa, SheCodes, and GreatLearning where she learned Courses in Web Development, AI, and Machine Learning.
Through these programs, she mastered programming languages like C, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Java, and Python. She also became proficient in frameworks like React and Bootstrap.
To apply her knowledge, Zainab worked on several innovative projects, including an E-commerce Website, a Real Estate App, a Personal Portfolio Website, AI Chatbots for Schools & Law Firms, a Poem Generator, and a Quote Generator.
Each project sharpened her problem-solving and creative thinking skills. Despite her impressive achievements in tech, Zainab’s love for medicine remains strong. She now looks forward to a future where she can merge her AI expertise with medical innovation.
Though she still has two years before her admission into the university, Zainab said plans to dive into more research, work on advanced projects, and look for scholarship opportunities abroad while waiting.
Zainab hopes her journey will inspire other young people to stay resilient in the face of challenges. ”Look for other possibilities and continue to learn. Often, the path you didn’t expect can lead to the greatest rewards,” she said.
