Code togetHER 2022: Girls become programmers in four months with the Karlsruhe mentoring program
karlsruhe.digital supports the Karlsruhe mentoring program “code togetHER 2022” as a media partner of the university group she.codes@KITxTUM, about whose work and impressive commitment we reported on in detail back in July of this year. Vera Wesselkamp, part of the Executive Board, provides insights into the upcoming series of free workshops for girls and explains how it contributes to the promotion of young talent in the STEM sector and equal opportunities. And the best thing about it: there are still places available!
With computers, tablets and smartphones, media is taking over our everyday lives. Programming is therefore a skill that is becoming increasingly important and, as is so often the case, practice makes perfect. However, it is not yet an integral part of children’s everyday school life. As programming has so far been taught in very few schools, it is mainly girls and children whose families cannot afford to pay for extracurricular courses who come into contact with this subject far too late or not at all . This is also clearly reflected later in the number of students and employees in the relevant degree courses and professions: Women are still underrepresented today. The university group she.codes@KITxTUM was founded to introduce girls – regardless of their resources – to coding. It supports girls with workshops and the mentoring program “code togetHER” as they take their first steps into the world of programming languages.
Becoming a programmer in four months
Vera Wesselkamp explains that the special thing about the workshop series is that girls not only come into contact with coding, but also directly with a role model. Role models are important to create orientation and representation and to show opportunities. In four different workshops, the first of which will take place on September 25, participants will learn the basics of programming in a creative and fun way and write their own code. The online sessions take place once a month, always on Sundays, for around two and a half hours and run for a total of four months.
But even between the online events, the participants are not left to their own devices. A she.codes member is on hand as a mentor for the entire duration. “The participants can ask their mentors any questions at any time and master all the tasks together,” explains Vera Wesselkamp proudly. “Of course, we teach the girls basic programming skills in a very playful way, but at the same time they have a woman at their side who comes from the field and can therefore act as a direct role model.”
Equal opportunities: everyone can learn programming here
Participants do not need to bring anything to the workshop – neither previous knowledge nor special technical equipment. The workshop takes place entirely in the browser, so there is no need to install any special software . Participation works via Zoom, where the workshops take place both in large groups and in small groups – in so-called breakout sessions. Up to 30 girls between the ages of 11 and 14 can take part in . It is ensured that all participants are each accompanied by a mentor from .
The program is completely free of charge. This is particularly important for the university group . “On the one hand, this makes it particularly low-threshold, because it lowers the barriers to simply giving it a try,” explains Vera Wesselkamp. But there is also another reason: not everyone can afford to pay for programming courses. With its courses, the university group not only wants to contribute to equal opportunities for girls, but also wants to reach girls in particular whose families do not have the money, the knowledge or the time to take care of their children’s programming skills. And they are really serious about this. “We have activated friendly mentors from other educational support programs in order to become known to the schoolgirls at who we would find difficult to reach on our own ” explains Vera Wesselkamp. Parents who are nevertheless able and willing to support the work of she.codes donated more frequently after the workshop.
Coding is needed everywhere
The advantages of learning programming are clear to Vera: “Personally, I believe that programming is no longer only needed in computer science, but that it is now an essential skill for all people entering the world of work. The basic skills are needed in all kinds of subjects, in all natural sciences, but also in the humanities. And, of course, it’s also helpful to have an understanding of how programs work, even if you’re just using a computer.”
Of course, these skills can then be applied in the field of computer science or in engineering and natural sciences. The Master’s student is optimistic about the career prospects for people who can program and believes that “this is a great advantage. People are still being headhunted out of university and employed as software developers or data analysts.”
Register now
The first workshop in the series will take place online on September 25, 2022.
Participation is free of charge and registration is online still possible!
The other dates are on 23.10., 20.11. and 11.12.2022, each for 2.5 hours.
Featured image: Christian Seeger.