A decade of giving back
Lisa Brown, a Bosch STEM ambassador and Software Engineer at Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, Bosch UK, had been looking for a place to share her passion for software development with her 8 year old daughter but didn’t know where to begin as computing wasn’t on the curriculum for a few years and she didn’t know where she could learn at such a young age. Then she found Manchester CoderDojo – a free, volunteer-led, community-based club for young people learning to code. The Dojo provides a space for kids and teens to explore technology in an informal, creative, and social environment.
Lisa has now spent 10 years attending and volunteering with Manchester CoderDojo. As soon as her daughter joined, Lisa got stuck in by supporting the main organisers of the club as a mentor. After a few years, Lisa took over the organisation of the club and has been doing so ever since. She felt that it was important for the club to continue operating as there are so many kids who are passionate about coding and she wanted to support parents who weren’t sure how to or not equipped to support that passion. Knowing that some families don’t have computer equipment at home, the club gives its members a chance to use laptops, some of which have been provided by Bosch, and some provided by Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi is a charity foundation which is working to enable young people to realise their full potential through digital technology and software. In March this year, Lisa spoke on a panel and ran a workshop at a conference organised by the Raspberry Pi Foundation for coding clubs all around the world..
In December 2022, Manchester CoderDojo celebrated its 10th anniversary with nearly 50 young people attending the celebration. They celebrated with coding, pizza and giveaways, including goodie bags containing Bosch merchandise
Lisa said: “There have been so many highlights in the past 10 years. The main one is seeing the youngsters who came along in the early days who are now either working in the tech industry or are studying in STEM degrees.” One girl that attended the club has now gone on to graduate with first class honours in a Design Engineering masters and is now a research and development engineer, showing how clubs like CoderDojo can shape and impact the future of their students.
