Sixty young women will discover firsthand what software engineering and coding are all about at the University of Waterloo this Saturday, February 21.
Hosted by the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering, Go CODE Girl aims to ignite interest in software and computer engineering at a time when students are thinking about their future careers and are choosing courses that will prepare them for further education.
Waterloo’s event is part of the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering (ONWiE) initiative to raise awareness in young women about computer and software engineering professions. More than 500 students in Grades 9 to 11 will take part in Go CODE Girl events taking place in eight different ONWiE locations across the province in February and March.
Mary Wells, the chair of ONWiE and Waterloo Engineering professor, said the event will expose young women to the fundamentals of coding.
“Today, software forms the backbone of our interconnected and digital world,” said Wells, associate dean, outreach and chair of the Women in Engineering committee at Waterloo. “Learning to code can lead to increased digital confidence, a different way of thinking about problems and the ability to understand and use technology to help develop creative solutions in almost any discipline.”
Waterloo’s Go CODE Girl event begins at 10 a.m. in Carl Pollock Hall with pre-registration required.
About ONWiE
ONWiE was formed in 2005 between all the schools and faculties of engineering across Ontario. The objective of this network is to work collaboratively to support current women engineers, students, and encourage the next generation to pursue careers in engineering. ONWiE offers many other outreach programs for girls and young women including Go ENG Girl, which has been running for over a decade.