diGIRLab offers IT workshops for young women

Isa-Aimée von Campe and Marie Enzberger had the idea for their company in the social entrepreneurship course at university. At the 5 Euro Business Competition, they then pursued this idea, refined it and set up the first workshops - and even won the competition. Since the beginning of January, the two students from the University of Bayreuth have already received over 50 registrations from schoolgirls and have already held ten workshops in a virtual learning world.

"We are convinced that digital knowledge is needed in every profession today," says Isa-Aimée von Campe. "The world is becoming more and more digital, no matter if you are a student, or in your job as a baker or doctor, by now everyone works with a computer somewhere." Digitalisation has arrived in every profession - but not in schools.

"I had a year of computer science in grade 7, but not any more," she says, "and since then the curriculum has hardly been adapted. Only 1% of students choose an advanced course in computer science, and of these, only 15% are girls. The reason for this, she says, is that pupils often have to choose between, for example, the language and science branches. Female students often choose the language branch and thus sometimes have only one year of computer science lessons at school. She finds this development unfortunate, but also knows that it is difficult to influence the curricula. "That's why we asked ourselves: where can we start?" And so von Campe and Enzberger came up with a concept for introducing schoolgirls to the digital world. In a virtual 3D world, they offer young women between the ages of 12 and 21 workshops on digital topics. As avatars, the participants can learn interactively how to programme a game, design 3D objects and flyers. The courses are not only about imparting knowledge, but also about developing self-confidence in the digital world. "We wanted to create a "safe space"," she says. In this way, they want to motivate more women to take a path into the digital future in the IT sector, because currently only 16 per cent of those working in the IT sector are women. To also address the increasing shortage of skilled workers in the IT sector, they are giving IT companies the opportunity to place themselves and their professions in the virtual world. "Which students know what a front-end developer or data scientist is?" asks von Campe. In the workshops, the participants also learn directly and very tangibly where and how they could apply what they have learned later on.

The two founders also bring external experts on board for the workshops. For example, the Chair of Design at the University of Bayreuth. Two courses are now offered there: Sustainable Design and 3D Design. Anyone who wants to take part in such a course doesn't really need any previous knowledge. "It is only desirable that they have a laptop, a mouse and a headset. A second screen is not bad either, but not a basic requirement." The courses are designed for schoolgirls between 12 and 21. "The participants don't pay anything for it at the moment," von Campe emphasises. "Sure, we're putting all our spare time into it right now and we wish we could live off it financially in the future. But at the moment we're just trying to build it up so that it can continue no matter what." Even when the two master's students have completed their master's theses.

Interested students can look at the various courses on the website (www.digirlab.de) and also book them directly. The next course is a 3D design workshop on 27 April from 4 to 6.30 pm. More information about the different courses can be found here: https://www.digirlab.de/schulerinnen. Students who would like to inspire schoolgirls with their topics and would like to hold a workshop can simply contact info@digirlab.de by email.