Between September and October 2023, TDF organized 10 school-based hackathons to train 800 Code Club students in project brainstorming (problem/solution finding) and creative thinking. The top 30 Code Club leaders (53% are girls) received advanced training, including leadership, critical thinking, problem solving, and project management. Each of them was supported and coached by a mentor from the university and a mentor from a relevant/IT company to enhance their strengths, learning potential, and career paths, especially in the technology sector.
Following these training workshops, 70 proposals for technology-based innovative ideas/solutions were submitted to TDF by October 2023. Of the 70 teams, 40 eligible teams (including 25 teams of secondary and high school students and 15 teams of university students) were selected to participate in the incubation boot camp.
The bootcamp is a two-month event where the participants will be teamed up with mentors (from universities and industry) who will guide them through the steps of starting a business, including developing initial ideas, testing hypotheses, customer journey, business model, etc. All teams will receive a small grant to build a prototype of their project that can be tested by customers.
By mid-November, the top 12 teams will be selected to participate in the final round of the business model competition in early December 2023.
See more of the innovative projects the Code Club students develop here: https://dariu.org/digital-literacy-en/code-clubs-en/projekte-en/
