What is V Code?
V Code is one of the amazing volunteering projects run by V Team, the student volunteering group of the Students’ Union, and works in collaboration with the charity Mighty Girls.
The project aims to support local secondary students who identify as female (as well as other gender minorities) so that the students can confidently consider a career in tech and STEM by developing their coding skills.
What Was The Coding Bootcamp Like?
The event supported 50 students which gave them the chance to meet new people and work together in a positive environment.
The course taught them Python, one of the most common languages that’s used as a foundation in programming, in the hopes that it gives the students a starting point in their coding experience. Participants were able to code independently while volunteers provided support.
The networking activity of the event sparked great conversations between the students, volunteers, and the guest speakers. The guest speakers represented a wide range of backgrounds and were able to talk about their experience and offer advice for starting a career in STEM, including study pathways and career options.
Overall, the event was a huge success. It was fantastic to see the growth and passion from the students during the coding bootcamp and has hopefully given the students an experience that they can draw from and use going forward.
Coding Bootcamp Activities
The main event of V Code is the ‘Coding Bootcamp’ that is hosted annually at the University of Bath and is a great opportunity for the students to develop STEM skills, boost confidence and get an exclusive insight in a STEM career through our guest speakers. This year the day included:
- Problem solving activities
- Coding exercises in Python
- AB Dynamics Display (sponsor of the event)
- STEM Guest speaker session
- Coding competitions (with prizes!)
Student Success Stories
Overall, this year’s event was a massive success in helping the students and here’s some statistics and comments from the students:
- 93% of students said the Coding Bootcamp helped with the development of their coding skills
- The top skills that students said they developed most were: Confidence, Programming and Experience
- The student’s confidence about their future careers and studies increased from 22% to 74%
- “Both of the software engineers were very inspiring”
- “Thank you to everyone for putting this event on, I really appreciate it”
- “Lovely support and smiling faces”
Volunteer Insights
The project is also a great way for volunteers to get involved in the local community whilst being able to talk about their experiences and degree course with the students.
Here is what the day was like in the words of one of the volunteers:
“The coding bootcamp was a great experience to volunteer at. It was amazing to provide an opportunity for gender minorities to learn how to code, an increasingly important skill, and to support them in a male-dominated field.”
Thank You
Finally, a massive thank you for everyone involved in this year’s event!
Charity:
Sponsor:
Project Leads:
Volunteers:
- Madeleine Hartland-Dykes
- Myla Hardman
- Stephanie Kingdom
- Kian James
- Isabella Mullings-Wong
- Varniethan Ketheeswaran
- Charlotte Chrysostom
- Zoe Tangen
- Winnie Chen
- Jemima Poynton
- Tharun Murugathas
- Otman Boumnina
- Hajanujan Vasantharaja
- Amber Hua
- Miranda Rolfe
- Mahima Yadav
- Iona Fernandes
- Argentine Person