Girls from a Cold Lake school will be locked to their computer screens on Wednesday. Female students from grades six to eight at Art Smith Aviation Academy will be taking part in the “National Hackergal Hackathon”. The event is put on by the Hackergirl, a group who aims to introduce young women to the industry of computer coding and programming.
On December 12th, students will take to their computers to help solve a problem using the skills they’ve learned about coding. Teams work together to create an interactive project with a theme revealed that morning.
Students will be judged on their solutions and teamwork and awards will be handed out. Hackergirl says the day isn’t a competition but rather a great way to show girls a potential career. They say the stats for female employment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has only increased by two percent since 1987.