Microsoft, IDA’s new programme aims to teach coding to 1.2 million

SINGAPORE — Some people get frustrated when they are stuck in a traffic snarl; the more creative ones may start thinking of using coding to create a software to ease the jam.

Getting more individuals to use coding to develop solutions to problems they encounter is the aim of Code for Change, a new initiative rolled out by Microsoft Singapore yesterday in partnership with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.

In line with Singapore’s Smart Nation vision, the three-year nationwide programme hopes to encourage computational thinking skills.

Such skills will enable individuals to dissect problems and formulate solutions in a way that computers can understand and evaluate, such as coming up with an algorithm through coding.

Code for Change aims to reach out to 1.2 million individuals, including students.

“We are now in a future beyond paper qualifications,” said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, at the programme’s launch at NTUC Centre, One Marina Boulevard, yesterday.

“It is your skills and what unique things you can create which makes you special,” said Dr Balakrishnan, who is also Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Programme Office.

Code for Change will benefit more than 500,000 students through various curricula, events and competitions, all designed to stimulate creativity and teach programming skills.

For example, lower primary students can enter the world of programming via Kodu Game Lab Workshops, a game-design tool which enables children to build their own video games.

Tertiary students can vie for the Microsoft Imagine Cup, a technology competition which allows students to collaborate and develop a technology application as well as create a business plan.

Students TODAY spoke to believed that Code for Change will be a boon for those who love innovation and creativity.

“Coding requires you to think out of the box, and IT (information technology) is a very promising sector. It helps for youths to start early,” said Mr Ashley Lau, a 19-year-old student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of InfoComm Technology.