CS Juniors: Girls.comp Day

The Department of Computer Science at the University of Brasilia (UnB), Brazil, brought together 160 middle and high school girls and 30 female undergraduate volunteers around computing, robotics, and AI. The event was a huge success, inspiring new ways of thinking and career possibilities in the participants.

Building Future Pathways to Computing

One of the most significant successes of the program was the way it carved new pathways to computing careers for the girls who participated. The program began by bridging what’s often a stubborn gap — the gulf between young learners and university — by teaching them about the six undergraduate programs at UnB:

• Software Engineering
• Computer Science
• Computer Engineering
• Mechatronics Engineering
• Data Communication Engineering
• Computing Education (teacher preparation for K–12)

This demystified computing degrees for girls in tech. It also helped the students understand the diversity of technology careers and that nothing is beyond their reach.

The event put the responsibility of leading the girls completely in the hands of female undergraduate students and alumnae. This gave them clear role models they could look up to and emulate, further underscoring the important role of women in computing.

In this way, the program held a mirror up to the girls in attendance, ensuring their vision of the future included faces like their own.

 Establishing Computing Foundations Using Hands-On Learning

Girls.comp Day’s crowning achievement was the way it built a solid computing foundation in students who have limited exposure to these kinds of opportunities. The secret to success was interactive, hands-on learning. Each session struck a balance between creativity, intellectual challenges, and fun.

Robotics: Learning Programming While Building a Robot

Every student got a chance to see an inanimate creation come to “life” through programming. The star of the show was Ardunina, a 3D-printed robot powered by its namesake, Arduino.

The girls built Ardunina out of 3D-printed and electrical components and programmed each component, effectively bringing Ardunina to life. For some, this was the highlight of the day, with one girl putting it simply: “I enjoyed building Ardunina!”

It’s no surprise that building Ardunina provided an impactful experience, especially because students were able to combine relatively basic electronic concepts to build their own being.

Python Programming: Learning to Code with Some Friendly Competition

After learning what Python is and how it works, the girls got to work. They were all given coding exercises, the Codeforces platform, and a challenge involving three problems. Every time a student solved one of the problems, they earned a balloon.

Soon, every participant had at least one balloon and a smile of achievement.

Cybersecurity: Combatting Threats Aimed at Women

The event also succeeded at preparing the girls for some of the darker realities of computing, an important consideration for girls in tech. It armed each participant with critical knowledge around cyber threats that disproportionately affect women. This sobering, yet necessary topic sheds light on select attack methods designed and ways they can prevent becoming a victim.

The success of this part of the event was underscored by the high level of engagement the girls showed, specifically around learning safe online habits.

Artificial Intelligence: Building a Rock, Paper, Scissors Partner

Girls.comp day also accomplished what many classrooms struggle to deliver: It enabled students to train their own supervised AI model.

Using Machine Learning for Kids and Scratch 3, the students trained the model using webcams to teach it how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. They used gesture recognition to help it understand how to play the popular game.

That wasn’t all. The program also gave them a general foundation in AI: Prior to diving into their machine learning training, they all learned the history of AI, Natural Language Processing, chatbots, machine learning, and AI ethics.

A Powerful, Lasting Impact

The event aimed to provide a comfortable, thrilling experience around computing learning and earned high marks from participants.

“I loved everything!” one girl exclaimed. “The breakfast, lunch, and snacks were great! The activities were super fun, and the instructors were very understanding, friendly, and helped us whenever we had problems!”

Another, typing in Portuguese said, “Great organization, very helpful staff! I loved participating in the event 🥰.”

IEEE CS Juniors: Expanding Horizons with Computing Outreach

Girls.comp Day at UnB increased access while inspiring a new generation of innovators. Using relatable role models and hands-on experiences, it gave 160 girls a clear vision of their future in tech, a core focus of IEEE CS. If you’d like to help IEEE CS Juniors impact more global communities, learn how to volunteer today.