Virtual Girls Into Coding # 17 & 18 -June-July 2021

Virtual Girls Into Coding # 17 & 18 -June-July 2021

Virtual Girls Into Coding 17 & 18 were delivered just before we brought a successful season of hands-on virtual workshops to a pause for the summer break. The last year or so has been a blast and we have gained enormous satisfaction from being able to deliver fun, informal education & learning experiences & from continuing to build our network with a strong community spirit.

Adapting our workshops, making them completely safe & virtual has enabled us to keep the hands-on aspect that makes them fun & so worthwhile. We continue to send out bespoke packs of components to the participants beforehand. This makes our activities inclusive & accessible.

Through the workshop events, the girls also got to watch their peers being involved & even help each other out, contributing to a community feel.

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We continued to reach a wide range of girls from all over the world, including the USA, Canada, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Singapore, Suriname, India, Spain, France, Ireland & the UK.

I feel really inspired to be part of this.

Through the guidance & support of our team of dedicated mentors Sam, Rehana, Llewelyn, Ben & Graham. The girls were able to incorporate motors, servos, sensors, speakers, neopixels, mechanisms &  microcontrollers into a range of different hands-on learning projects & tasks – coding them into action with Python & Microsoft Makecode,

Other participants were able to hone their 3D digital design skills through a range of challenges using TinkerCAD, Blender, Sculptris, SketchUp.

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Over the course of these two events we were joined by some fantastic guest speakers, all doing cool things in the world of STEM:

Megan Arnold

Megan is a degree apprentice at Arm working with the Fast Models team who creates simulations of the latest Arm processors. She also studies for a BSc degree & often talks to students about degree apprenticeships & alternative routes into STEM.

Fiona Mc Gregor

Fiona is a Service Design & Transition Manager at Arm working within the Technical Operations Service Group. Fiona is passionate about helping young people make decisions about their future and options around pursuing a career in STEM.

Akua Opong

Akua works as a Senior Analyst within the Corporate Technology team at London Stock Exchange Group. Outside her work environment, she’s a Team London ambassador, mentor for Cajigo & Inclusive Careers, a charity volunteer & a keen sports volunteer!

Sam Hoh

Sam is an engineer that loves designing & building robots & figuring out how mechanisms work. She works on soft wearable robotics for rehabilitation at the University of Bristol, where she hopes to help make a difference in peoples’ lives.

Their stories/journeys need to be celebrated. Not just to cheer on women in tech & STEM roles making those strides, but to inspire the younger generation. One thing we can all do is be on the lookout for those good news stories to share with other young people – whatever their gender. Boys who learn that women & girls in tech do great things every day are more likely to either drop or never develop harmful gender biases. They’re also more likely to take on role models who share a gender-balanced view.Megan ArnoldFiona Mc GregorAkua OpongSam Hoh

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For the very last virtual GIC before the summer break, we held our traditional interactive quiz to mark the end of the event. However, on this occasion, we were able to award 3 different prizes (Microbit starter kit and a Coding for beginners book & an inspirational book on female role models) to 3 different girls. Congratulations to Natasha, Jennifer, Saahithi. Hope you have time to explore your prizes over the summer.

Last but not least, I would also like to say a BIG THANK YOU to Arm and AHPN (Africa Health Policy Network), our sponsors for these 2 Virtual Girls Into Coding events.

Without this type of support, we could not continue doing what we do.

Thank you everyone and can’t wait for the next one in September!

Avye