SIUE weCode Event to Teach Beginning Programming to High School Students
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science is offering high school students an opportunity to experience programming, a skillset that is increasingly in demand across industries.
SIUE weCode will be held Saturday, Dec. 3 in the Technology and Management Center on campus. The free tutorial workshop is geared toward high school students, and no coding experience is necessary.
“We live in a world surrounded by technology,” said Dennis Bouvier, PhD, associate professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science. “Whatever career field high school students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will depend on understanding how technology works. But not all students have a chance to learn that, as fewer than half of high schools teach computer science. That’s why we’ve organized weCode.”
The event will begin with a tutorial in programming. Students will achieve sufficient proficiency to contribute to a programming project. Then, they will work in teams, assisted by a mentor, to build a project of their design.
“Computer science is a growing career field that is relevant in industries as diverse as healthcare, entertainment, agriculture and aerospace,” Bouvier added. “According the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of career opportunities for trained computer scientists and software engineers is growing much faster than the number of people qualified to fill them.”
SIUE weCode is sponsored by Centene Corporation, Enterprise Holdings, the SIUE Department of Computer Science and SIUE Information Technology Services. Participating students must bring a signed parent/guardian consent form the day of the event to participate.
For more information and the consent form, visit wecode.cs.siue.edu.
Photo: (L-R) weCode team, including sophomore Zach Anderson, senior Gabe Maurer, Dr. Dennis Bouvier, chair of the Department of Computer Science, seniors Tivon Missi, Jacob Baird, Morgan Zellers and Meg Heisler, and Socratis Tornaritis, professor of computer science.
