Microsoft India And NASSCOM Foundation Encourage Young Girls to Learn Coding And Computer Science At YouthSpark Live 2016

• Engage with 300 young underserved girls on computer science basics through gamification and interactive learning exercises

• CODE <A> FUTURE Curriculum launched in partnership with Edulever to promote interest in Coding and Computer Science among under-represented youth; NASSCOM Foundation to train 12,000 youth from underserved communities on this curriculum

Furthering its commitment to empower and enable youth through technology and build greater diversity and gender equality in the IT sector, Microsoft India dedicated its fourth edition of YouthSpark Live to encourage young girls to explore Computer Science as a future employment opportunity.

Organized in partnership with NASSCOM Foundation, this year’s edition of YouthSpark Live saw 300 young girls between the age group of 15-24 from the under-represented communities attend a daylong workshop focused on demystifying computer coding and making computer code more accessible and understandable. The girls were introduced to coding through interactive fun filled exercises like controlling ‘Harold the Robot’ through accurate voice commands and gamification using the classic Minecraft game. The objective of the program was to make computer science accessible to all youth with the underlying principle that basic technology skills can help anyone and everyone do more and be more regardless of the field they work in. 

Mr. Ashok Pamidi, Head, Diversity and Inclusion & Regional Head, Karnataka, NASSCOM, said, “Today, the IT industry in India has approximately 34% of women employees and there is still a lot to be done to erase this gender disparity. We are glad to partner with Microsoft to help inspire India’s young girls and women to take up IT as a career opportunity and accelerate their growth.”

YouthSpark Live 2016 also saw the launch of ‘CODE <A> FUTURE’ curriculum developed in partnership with Edulever. The 50-hour curriculum is divided into two levels:

Level 1: Basics of Computer Programming explaining the basic principles of Coding and Computer Scienceg