First IT day: students conquer the digital future!

First IT day: students conquer the digital future!

On December 9, 2024, the first nationwide "The IT Day" took place in Austria, an impressive initiative from Shedigital that aims to inspire girls for the IT industry. Over 240 IT experts visited 82 schools and inspired around 4,200 students of the 3rd and 4th grades. According to initiator Stephanie Jakoubi, the event not only served to show the wide range of options in IT, but also to counteract existing stereotypes. The aim was to express courage to young people, especially girls, to explore new roles in the technology world. Initiatives like this are essential to prepare the next generation comprehensively for the challenges in an increasingly digital world, as they are also part of the study" like Mint wins “ was found.

digital skills in focus

The according to the recent ICILS-Study illustrate the urgency to promote digital skills in schools. It was found that more than 40 percent of the eighth graders only achieve the lower two competence levels in the field of digital knowledge. The high number of pupils in non-high school forms for which support lacks support is particularly worrying. The University of Paderborn has identified an important research field through the Icils study in the field of digital media in education and its integration into teaching. Professor Dr. Birgit Eickelmann emphasizes that despite the historical skepticism of digital in education, the current development shows progress, which, however, do not achieve all students alike.

The parallelism of these events underlines a clear trend: the education sector has to adapt and develop in order to meet the needs of the digital era. The commitment as part of the "The IT Day" shows how important it is to increase the visibility of IT roles and to promote access to these professions. This is indispensable to prepare girls and young women for a promising professional career in technology and at the same time equip them with the knowledge they need to be successful in this industry.