S.i will take place from 20 June to 6 July i Free Summer Camps Digital Girls dedicated to the students of the II, III and IV year of high school organized by Emilia Romagna in the universities of 6 different cities: Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Ferrara, Cesena, especially in the Departments of Engineering or Computer Science, «so the girls will be able to get to know the place where, if they wanted, they could study. They will immerse themselves in a stimulating reality “, says Barbara Santi, contact person for the Digital Agenda of Emilia Romagna (there are still some places, inscriptions here).
“Each Camp lasts three weeks, from Monday to Friday in the morning. For those who live far away, there will be an online version. Each class, with a maximum of 45 girls, will have a teacher and 4 tutors, so that the students can be closely followed in their activities », continues Santi. “We will work in a group around a project. In Bologna, Cesena and Parma, for example, a video game in Python language will be developed, the online edition will develop an App with elements of Artificial Intelligence. The setting will be very practical, at the end the girls will present their project. We will try to encourage them to work as a team, it will be even more fun ».
In addition to the 6 face-to-face and online fields, there will also be an eighth one, in the afternoon, always online in seminar form, with contributions from professionals who will talk about their experiences and job opportunities offered thanks to digital skills. A webinar open to all, but above all a useful complement of information for girls who have to make decisions about the path to follow after high school. All always free, thanks to funding from the European Social Fund.
The Digital Girls project started a few years ago on the initiative of the University of Modena, but this year, for the first time, the Emilia Romagna Region takes over the organization directly summer camps, which become part of the Digital Agenda. “As a Region we are working on the gender gap in the technological field, also with other initiatives, such as courses on digital skills for women, activities for girls who live in internal areas, and a Festival of technical culture that we have been organizing for years in Bologna, with many initiatives for women », continues Santi. «As a Digital Girl, it will be important to have feedback; as early as September we will make a report on this edition, to try to understand if we are going in the right direction, of an increase in female enrollment in Stem faculties ». Of course, a three-week course after the end of school is a commitment (even if there is no lack of fun), but above all it is worth it to clarify ideas about the future.
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