DepEd inks deal with global movement iamtheCODE to enhance women's coding skills

The Department of Education (DepEd) has signed an agreement with global movement iamtheCODE with the aim to provide coding and digital skills to young Filipino women. 

The partnership also seeks to strengthen the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, and Design (STEAMED) initiative. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by Education Secretary Sonny Angara following a courtesy visit and presentation by iamtheCODE founder Lady Mariéme Jamme on Thursday.

''The presence of Lady M here only underscores our shared interest to sign up even more Filipino young women and girls to iamtheCODE’s programs, and give more of them a fighting chance at a better life for themselves and their loved ones,” Angara said in a press release.

Through the partnership, iamtheCODE will provide DepEd schools access to its 12-week blended curriculum that is comprised of STEAMED workshops, apprenticeship programmes, and a repository of open-source online courses.

Further, the iamtheCODE platform will also offer more than 60,000 free courses to young Filipino women and girls. The courses will cover technical and soft skills lessons, with a focus on STEAMED.

Meanwhile, a skills benchmarking exercise will be conducted by iamtheCODE, in collaboration with DepEd, to identify the specific needs of Filipino students. 

The initiative aims to enhance the knowledge of high school students when it comes to STEM courses, artificial intelligence (AI), and coding skills. It has been a priority for Angara since his first week in office. 

Its website said iamtheCODE is the first African-led global movement that aims to empower a million young women to become coders and creative problem-solvers by 2030.—AOL, GMA Integrated News