CodeMaven 2.0 Girls2Code

CodeMaven 2.0 Girls2Code, jointly organized by the School of Computer Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (CS USM) and Telebort, follows a LAUNCH, CODE and JAM model to encourage young girls (7 - 12 years old) to learn coding and become technology creators. Our CodeMaven community program structure starts with a virtual launch (LAUNCH), followed by a series of coding workshops (CODE), and ends with a coding challenge (JAM). Currently in our third installment after the initiation of the program in 2019, CodeMaven 2.0 was held in conjunction with the International Girls in ICT Day 2023. CodeMaven 2.0 focused on the theme of creative computing (i.e., creating interactive and dynamic computing media) using Scratch. The activities were designed to encourage students to learn basic coding concepts through the creation of animated stories.

The events in CodeMaven 2.0 encompassed:

CodeMaven 2.0 Launch Day: 28 April 2023
4 CodeBytes (asynchronous mini coding workshops): 28 April – 1 May 2023 § CodeByte 2.1: Bringing Cartoons to Life: Animate Your Own Story § CodeByte 2.2: Chatty Creatures: How to Make Your Cartoon Animals Talk § CodeByte 2.3: Secret Messages and Surprises: Passing Notes and Triggering Fun § CodeByte 2.4: Lights, Music, Action: Adding Special Effects to Your Cartoon
Code Jam (F2F coding challenge): 6 May 2023

We had a total of 142 girls (aged between 7 - 12 years old) registered for the program and 130 girls joined us on the Virtual Launch Day through the zoom online platform. To make female ICT role models more visible to girls, we invited speakers, Ida Mok (co-founder and president of Women in Blockchain Asia) and Sophie Azlan (award-winning game developer), to share their inspiring ICT career stories during our virtual launch. In addition, CodeMaven 2.0 also involved 14 CodeSysters, female university student volunteers, who played the role as mentors in coaching the girls

In our final F2F Code Jam, a total of 18 girls gathered at Makerspace@USM to put their coding skills to the ultimate test and compete in an animation coding hackathon. The top five most creative animations were selected as winners by a panel of judges from Intel STEM team (Mr. Ong Soon Ee and Miss Teo Sje Yin) and USM (Dr. Wong Li Pei, Dr. Nasuha Lee Abdullah, Dr. Syaheerah Lebai Lufti and Dr. Rosni Abdullah). Prizes for the winners were sponsored by Telebort and CS USM. All thanks to the unwavering support of our sponsors, partners, parents and the community, CodeMaven 2.0 is a step closer towards cultivating interest and creating greater exposure among young girls in coding and STEM.