Economics Department in partnership to offer free coding in Cape Schools

WeCode24, a fun computer programming platform founded by Prof Rachel Jafta of the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Economic Management and Sciences was launched at the Media24 Centre in Cape Town recently. The programme is a partnership between the Economics Department, Naspers (funder) and Media24 (digital internships and media partner). Opportunities to volunteer and learn on the programme also exist for all Economic and Management Sciences students at Stellenbosch University.

WeCode24 launched as a pilot project in 2017 at four historically disadvantaged Western Cape schools to give learners from Grade 8 to Grade 11, who had little or no maths skills, a chance to learn to write code. It is now expanding to more such schools and aims to reach more than 500 Western Cape learners in 2020. Learners who participate in the programme will engage with lesson material and with each other through an online platform and community, as well as at workshops and coding clubs. Some of the topics covered in the programme are graphics, animation, games and physical computing with programmable electronics.

More information, including the launch video is available at the project website. Also read more about the launch on the university's blog and on fin24.com.