The event was attended by Krzysztof Gawkowski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs, Radosław Nielek, Director of NASK (National Research Institute), and Agata Pilitowska, PhD, Vice-Dean for Student Affairs at the WUT’s Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science.

On Monday October 14, 2024, the Warsaw University of Technology hosted the official launch of the "Club of Digital Opportunities" (Klub Cyfrowych Możliwości) project. The initiative aims to challenge stereotypes about professional roles in the ICT sector and inspire girls to pursue educational paths related to technology and the digital industry. The event was attended by Krzysztof Gawkowski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs, Radosław Nielek, Director of NASK (National Research Institute), and Agata Pilitowska, PhD, Vice-Dean for Student Affairs at the WUT’s Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science.

The "Club of Digital Opportunities" is an innovative project whose key element is a series of free educational workshops on programming, robotics, and artificial intelligence, as well as courses on cybersecurity. The program combines fostering digital skills in young people with promoting the role of women in the technology sector.

"This is an important event because it opens another pathway for building and developing digital skills among children, youth, and later students. It is also another step toward fostering responsibility in a digital state, a developing state, a state that utilizes technology, knowing where the challenges lie and what future areas need to be properly managed. All of this ties into the workforce—both men and women—who will work in the ICT sector," said Minister Gawkowski.

The minister thanked the partners who participated in this important project.

"I would like to sincerely thank Warsaw University of Technology for joining NASK in this broad, long-term initiative aimed at developing digital skills among children, especially girls. This program is particularly focused on fostering digital skills and opportunities for women. We want to ensure that through engagement starting at the elementary school level, both girls and boys have the chance to build their careers. We want them to seize this favorable moment, which can sometimes be a great start but later may not always lead to a fulfilled ending," said the minister.

Women to Computers!

The organizers aim to inspire and encourage young girls by showcasing female students and graduates of technical fields as role models, motivating them to pursue educational and career paths in the ICT sector. The program is designed for students in grades IV-VIII from primary schools in towns with populations under 20,000. It also extends, in a limited capacity, to cities with populations up to 100,000, where access to extracurricular activities is often limited. This initiative seeks to support children from smaller towns with fewer opportunities to develop their digital skills. The Director of NASK announced that in areas lacking the necessary equipment for the program's workshops, the organizers will provide it.

"As part of this project, NASK, in collaboration with our selected partners, will organize workshops in towns with populations under 20,000. These activities will resemble day camps for children in grades IV-VIII, with a focus on encouraging greater participation from girls—this is a key objective of the project. Most sessions will be led by women, including female lecturers and students from STEM fields, to serve as role models and motivate young girls to pursue technical paths and enhance their skills in technology and engineering,” said Radosław Nielek, PhD,  NASK Director

The activities will be open to children from primary schools and will be conducted by specially trained female students and graduates, with a smaller proportion of male students and graduates from ICT-related fields.

"Certainly, both the entire Warsaw University of Technology and our Faculty are keenly interested in such collaboration. Our Faculty has a strong tradition of promoting mathematics and computer science, and we organize numerous initiatives, including a mini academy. (...) We have students eager to participate in various activities, and currently, about 30% of our students are female, which is a good result. Both women and men actively engage in various initiatives within the Faculty, so I believe they will also be enthusiastic participants in this new project,” added Agata Pilitowska, PhD, Vice-Dean for Student Affairs at the Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science at the Warsaw University of Technology.

The project will be implemented from 2025 to 2029, with organizers aiming to reach at least 17,000 children. Activities will take place during winter and summer breaks in the form of multi-day cycles, with the first workshops scheduled for 2025. Additionally, one-day weekend sessions will be planned as part of the October’s European Code Week. Recruitment for the activities will be conducted through the project website.

The project is funded by The European Funds for Social Development (FERS) programme, with a budget of nearly 25 million PLN. The project is managed by the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy.