65% of children starting primary school today will later work in jobs and functions which do not yet exist. To prepare best future talents for the world of tomorrow and to incite passion and curiosity, digitalswitzerland created the «nextgeneration» platform, with a wide offer of different summer camps, where kids and teenagers can deep dive into topics such as coding, computational thinking or entrepreneurship. This is the second of the camps portrayed in a series of blogs on the nextgeneration summer camps 2018 season.

A whole new world – a creative approach to programming
(content provided by Marloes Caduff, founder of Codillion)

“I want to continue programming!” Yanis (7 years) is enthusiastic about the programming course he attended at Codillion.org. When children are given the opportunity to programme, a new world opens up to them. They discover that they can do more with computers than just watch videos and play games. The children experience that they can be active and creative themselves. Creating and controlling their own figures and worlds – there are no limits to their creativity and imagination when programming.

Not geeks or freaks, just kids having fun and learning

Codillion.org, an award-winning Swiss start-up, offers various programming courses in which children are introduced playfully to the basic problem-solving models of computer science (computational thinking). The children learn to give instructions to robots, make their own computer with paper and cardboard and programme simple games. Marloes Caduff, CEO of Codillion.org and mother of two girls, does not want to breed little computer freaks: “The children should enjoy trying out and solving problems”.

One mother, whose two boys took part in one of Codillion’s programming courses, was very impressed by its didactic approach: “I was speechless at how complex processes were explained to the children in a playful way.” She added that her children were so motivated and excited that they got up early in the morning for the course without complaining even though it was still dark outside.

Maintaining the momentum

Many children are so enthusiastic about Codillion’s courses that they want to attend more courses or continue programming at home. That’s why Codillion.org came up with the idea of coding and robotics boxes. With a subscription to the Codillion Coding Box, children receive different robots, accessories and ideas for programming delivered at home four times a year. “This allows us to reach children who have no time or opportunity to attend a course,” says Marloes Caduff.

For “nextgeneration” of digitalswitzerland, Codillion.org organises various summer camps for 6-14-year-old children. The camps last five half days (Monday to Friday). For Zurich early dropoff or late-pickup can be booked separately.

About digitalswitzerland|«nextgeneration»:

digitalswitzerland nextgeneration is connecting six high quality education initiatives in Switzerland, all offering camps with a unique learning program in the areas of robotics, entrepreneurship, gaming, programming and computational thinking. The summer camps are open for kids aged 6 to 19 and are taking place in all Swiss regions. In a playful way, the children and youngsters acquire digital competencies and entrepreneurial skills, which prepare them for the world of tomorrow. Stay tuned and subscribe to our Newsletter!