Coding Girls & Women takes students to universities to explore technology, artificial intelligence and teamwork
Today, Friday 15 May, with the Coding Girls & Women project, we are in two cities, Milan and Siena, with two different initiatives united by the same vision: to introduce girls and boys to technology in a practical, creative and inclusive way.
In Milan, primary school classes are experimenting with coding using BeeBots and discovering the university as an open, accessible and achievable place. In Siena, secondary school students are taking on a challenge involving AI agents and automation, working in teams on innovative solutions in the field of biotechnology.
Two different age groups, two different educational approaches, a single goal: to combat gender stereotypes in STEM subjects and build career guidance pathways that start early, grow with the students and guide them towards the skills of the future.
In Milan, young scientists are growing up at Bicocca
In Milan, the University of Milan-Bicocca is hosting the final event dedicated to primary schools, scheduled to take place in the Aula Pagani, from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. The stars of the day are 40 nine-year-old girls and boys from the Year 3 classes of the Via Moisè Loria Comprehensive School, led by headteacher Massimo Biolcati Rinaldi, who, following a programme carried out in the classroom, are coming to the university to present the projects they have created with BeeBots and share what they have learnt about coding, collaboration and overcoming gender stereotypes in STEM subjects.
The initiative was launched with a specific aim: to introduce the younger generation to technology in an inclusive and participatory way, demonstrating from primary school onwards that there are no ‘boys’ subjects’ or ‘girls’ subjects’. Through practical and collaborative activities, the classes explore computational thinking as a creative and collective tool.
Throughout the programme, led by Professor Fulvia Mecatti, interns Gaia Siano, Stefano O. Wahor and Giulia V. Arango Ataucusi, and trainer Vittoria Perego, the children transform simple school desks into interactive grids using coloured tape, designing routes, obstacles and original stories to programme the BeeBot robots. Each group independently creates settings, rules and missions, learning to collaborate, make decisions and solve problems together.
The final event also offers an opportunity to symbolically enter the university world. The classes visit the campus and the university’s facilities, observing at close quarters the places where researchers and university students study and work. Following opening remarks by Professor Ida Castiglioni, lecturer in Sociology of Cultural and Communication Processes at the Department of Sociology and Social Research at the University of Milan-Bicocca, and by Valentina Gelsomini on behalf of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale ETS, the children present the courses created with the BeeBots alongside the interns who supported them during the workshop.
The morning also features an interview with Professor Fulvia Mecatti, based on the themes explored during the workshop: artificial intelligence, machine learning, bias and prejudice in algorithms, collaboration in research, the role of women in science, and the future of technology professions.
Simple yet profound questions, such as “Can computers learn unfair behaviour?” or “How do we teach technology that we are all equal?”, help to translate complex topics into language accessible even to the youngest children.
In Siena, a challenge on AI agents and automation
On the same day, the University of Siena is hosting the first edition of the event “AI and Automation Hackathon”, a day entirely dedicated to AI agents and automation. The initiative is taking place at the Department of Information Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, at the San Niccolò campus in Via Roma 56.
The hackathon involves 111 students from six classes across three schools in the area: IIS Sarrocchi in Siena, Liceo Scientifico Galilei in Siena and IIS Roncalli in Poggibonsi. Taking part are the fifth-year classes, AI and CI streams, from IIS Sarrocchi; the fourth-year classes, B and I streams, from Liceo Scientifico Galilei; the fourth-year classes, sections A and B, of IIS Roncalli.
Throughout the day, participants work in teams to design an innovative solution to a challenge in the field of biotechnology. After the challenge has been explained and the teams divided, the groups have several hours to develop their proposal, which is then presented in the form of a pitch to a jury of experts. The day concludes with the evaluation of the projects and the award ceremony.
The programme did not come about in a single day. Each class undertook six hours of preliminary training on AI agents and automation, delivered by university tutors from the Siena Artificial Intelligence Network (SAINet), a student association founded by students in the fields of information engineering and mathematical sciences.
Leading the tutors’ work are Pietro Pianigiani, president of SAINet and local coordinator for Fondazione Mondo Digitale, Tommaso Quintabá, vice-president, Edoardo Caproni, secretary, Andrea Brogi, founding member, Mattia Girellini, member, and Tommaso Iaquinta, teacher at IIS Roncalli and SAINet member.
The initiative stems from a collaboration between the Department of Information Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Siena, the Fondazione Mondo Digitale ETS and SAINet. Representing the University of Siena is Professor Monica Bianchini, the department’s careers advisor. Also involved are the headteachers Cecilia Martinelli of IIS Sarrocchi, Federico Frati of IIS Roncalli in Poggibonsi and Alfredo Stefanelli of the Galilei Scientific High School in Siena, together with the teachers Francesco Vittori for IIS Sarrocchi, Barbara Bonucci for Galilei and Tommaso Iaquinta for Roncalli.
