Meet and Code 2020 – SPARK edition

Did you know that there is a European initiative whose goal is to extend the knowledge of tech and programming among youth? It is Meet and Code initiative supported by SAP, Haus des Stiftens gGmbH and local partners, members of TechSoup Europe network. Despite the pandemic, the organizers have received 1,730 applications for online events in 35 European countries. During the course of September and October, SPARK has organized four events that were part of the Meet and Code initiative. 

#1 Code IT girl!

Code IT Girl gathered 43 girls from junior high and high schools. Younger girls got the chance to learn Scratch, a visual programme language suitable for kids. The attendees have shown their solutions for simple math challenges, quizzes, formulas, as well as games and animations. High school students got the chance to learn the basics of Python. They have learned the basic concepts that can be applied in learning any other programme language. The specifics of Python programme language is that it’s easy to understand, even for those who don’t have any previous experience in programming.  

#2 Python for College Students

Very often, tech students are not familiar with the basic concepts of programming. Lack of that basic knowledge backfires, so students lose motivation and often they are not able to keep up with the curriculum.  

It necessitates extra tuition. Sometimes, that knowledge gap is so deep that students quit as they are not able to pass programming. 

To prevent that from happening, we have created a dedicated curriculum for students. Forty-six students participated in these workshops and successfully passed the final exam. 

#3 My First Website

On Thursday, 22nd of October, a two-hour online workshop on web design was held. The participants could learn how to create a simple static web site. Over 50 participants were present and got the basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and other useful tools. With the workshop, we wanted to show that web design isn’t just for brilliant minds, but for everyone who is ready to learn.

#4 Women in Tech meetup #1: Becoming an IT girl

Over 80 participants had a chance to meet four successful women and to hear their stories. Esma Hodžić (Junior Quality Assurance Engineer, NSoft), Iva Đikić (Managing Director, Rolla App), Saldina Nurak (Software Engineer and YT Content Creator) and Ana Sović (SVP of Business Operations, NSoft) talked about their IT career paths. The meetup took place on the 30th of October. It is 11th meetup organized by SPARK, and the first one dedicated exclusively to women. 

Meet and Code project and mentioned events have enabled SPARK to fulfil its mission: knowledge sharing and STEM promotion. SPARK has proven to be trustworthy. A great audience has participated in the events, even though all the events were online. The success of this year’s events organized under the Meet and Code umbrella leaves us confident to plan the continuation of the cooperation in 2021 as well.