Summer computing camp for girls
The Lero Education and Outreach programme provides support to teachers and students in schools who are interested in computing. It includes professional development, provision of resources and curriculum materials, internships and computing camps. A series of summer computing camps for girls were funded by Google's RISE award for Computer Science Education. The RISE Award enabled Lero to develop and deliver programmes that allowed the girls to immerse themselves in technology for the duration of the camps. Software industry representatives also attended to give the students an insight into working in the software field.
Female students aged between 12 and 18 from schools around Limerick worked together to develop and present artificial intelligence strategies for the Chain Reaction game. They then took part in a tournament where the developed AIs competed against each other. During the camp, the students also built web pages using HTML and programmed NAO robots. The feedback was very positive, with 98% agreeing that “women can do computing”, 93% saying that “computers are fun” and “they know more about computing as a job” as a result of participation in the camp.
We were delighted to have the opportunity to run a series of summer computing camps for girls. The enthusiasm and accomplishments of the students during the camp was amazing. The Google RISE funding enabled us to involve a well-resourced team to support participants during the camps, to roll out new and innovative modules for the camp and finally – and most importantly – to encourage females to participate!