Background

Social entrepreneurship is a very important way to have an impact on society, and it’s a great way for young people to try to eliminate discrimination and social exclusion, and to create a better world.

Equally, it’s very important for young people to develop their skills in STEM subjects. As shown in the chart below, STEM jobs are predicted to grow by 13% in the next seven years, compared to 9% growth in other jobs. Since 1990, jobs in STEM have grown by 79%, and today millions go unfilled due to lack of supply in the field. This is particularly true for girls: studies have shown that although girls show a similar level of interest in STEM subjects as boys when young, by the time it gets to college, a far smaller proportion of girls take up STEM subjects, particularly subjects like computer science. In India, regardless of sex, only 5% of all students in tertiary education are in the field of information & communication studies, out of 38% STEM students.

Coding is an extremely effective way to encourage young people into STEM, as well as to practice social entrepreneurship, as it allows young people to turn their creative ideas into reality. Coding began in the 1960s with a primary focus on business and science, but now can be used for a wide range of purposes, including social good. Students can be helped through coding by teachers who have not studied computer science – in fact, studies have shown that there is no great difference in outcome either way. Code.org also reports that girls perform just as well as boys in their programmes, despite being more likely to say the programme is difficult – this shows that girls can underestimate their skills in this field.

By learning how to code, young people can turn ideas they have about social good into a reality, as coding gives them the tools to implement these ideas. It allows people to create something that didn’t previously exist. It’s a creative medium, and helps young people to unlock their creativity and put their ideas into action.