Select group of Sydney girls in inaugural Code Next Program

Sixty Year 9 and 10 girls from Chatswood High, Mosman School and North Sydney Girls High are taking part in the inaugural Code Next Program. They are learning the fundamentals of coding and design including HTML + CSS – discovering how to build and style a static website, and Ruby – a programming language to stimulate computational thinking. 

Vodafone has teamed up with Australian technology educator, Coder Academy, to deliver the program which aims to inspire females to choose careers in STEM areas.

Vodafone’s support of the Code Next program follows a recent inquiry by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training which found that participation in STEM subjects is at its lowest level in 20 years, with particularly low levels of participation in STEM education and employment by Australian girls and women.

Vodafone’s Director of Human Resources, Vanessa Hicks said: “There is an alarming rate of young women avoiding studying STEM subjects in school, and subsequently not pursuing careers in these areas, because there is a lack of understanding about job prospects and roles for women in male dominated STEM fields.

“Code Next is a great way to bridge the knowledge gap and let young women see the countless ways STEM skills can be applied, so they can make an informed decision about the future of their career.”

In its inaugural year, about 60 students from Chatswood High School, Mosman High School and North Sydney Girls High School are taking part in Code Next. Students are taught the fundamentals of coding and design including HTML + CSS – learning how to build and style a static website, and Ruby – a programming language to stimulate computational thinking.

Coder Academy’s General Manager, Sally Browner, said the Code Next program has been designed with young women in mind and is centred on challenging, engaging and encouraging students’ creativity.

“Girls need to be able to experience what the modern workplace feels like, the plethora of careers in STEM available to them and to meet people who they aspire to become,” she said.

“I meet students from all types of schools and the most effective programs are those that build their confidence to solve problems with technology as well as showing them how those skills can be applied in the workplace.”