Wanted: Girls who code

Coolest Projects is open to young coders around the world

45% of participants in Coolest Projects 2022 were girls. We want you to know that girls are welcome here! Girls who code will be joining other talented young women who have used their skills to express their creativity or solve problems they care about. Let’s meet some of these awesome coders.

Meet Zoe

Zoe, based in Ireland, took part in the Coolest Projects online showcase in 2020 with her Scratch project, Find It.

Tell us about your project.
“My project is called Find It. You have to find hidden objects in each level, then you get points for each time you collect something. In the end, if you have all of the points you need, you get coins.”

What did you learn whilst creating your project?
“I learned a lot while making my project and how to fix problems along the way. I was also able to view other people’s projects and they were all really good.”

Tell us about your experience of taking part in Coolest Projects online showcase!
“It was fun and exciting. But it was also a challenge and I was nervous. It made me feel happy that I could take part. I felt proud when I was finished and found out that Tim Peake had picked my project as one of his favourites.”

Young tech creator sat by her laptop with her coding project

Meet Selin

Selin, a creator from Istanbul, Turkey, is passionate about robotics and AI. Her childhood pet inspired her to build tech projects to help others live well. She showcased her robotic guide dog IC4U at Coolest Projects back in 2018.

Meet Clara

Clara took part in the Coolest Projects USA event in 2020 with her group project, Teachers’ Pet.

What inspired your project?
“We went into Coolest Projects knowing that we wanted to create something that would benefit our school community. Teachers struggle with getting affordable supplies in a timely manner, which greatly impacts the quality of learning in the classroom. To combat these pain points, our team designed Teachers’ Pet, an app that provides teachers and school administrators a collaborative platform to order supplies efficiently and effectively. By streamlining the ordering process with a simple ordering system, order status dashboard, and in-app teacher-admin messaging system, we hope to improve teachers’ lives so they can provide us, students, a better learning experience.”

Coolest Projects participant sits on wall against the backdrop of skyscrapers

What advice would you have for girls who are thinking about taking part in Coolest Projects?
“You won’t know what it’s like unless you try it! I went into Coolest Projects not knowing what to expect at all. I was blown away by the sheer range of project ideas in the exhibition hall, as well as others’ creativity! Many projects had coding languages, microcontrollers, Raspberry Pis, etc. in common, but each and every project was so unique! It’s incredible. Our Girls Who Code club still remembers Coolest Projects like it was yesterday — it’s one of our fondest memories!”

Get Involved

Join these talented digital makers and create something of your own. If you’re a parent or educator who wants to encourage coding for girls, check out our free resources here. With workbooks and slide decks, you can help girls turn their ideas into working digital creations. If you’re a girl who codes, then share your talent with the world and enter Coolest Projects!