Winner of the Code Challenge 2022

Nearly 1600 students in grades 4-6 participated in this year’s edition of the Code Challenge – a national competition to get more children curious about programming. Like last year, Nexer was part of the jury, and the winner was announced on 9 December.

The Code Challenge is organised by Kodcentrum, a non-profit organisation that introduces programming and digital creativity to children. This year’s theme was “Think again, a different world”. The contestants’ mission was to imagine a sustainable society on Mars linked to human rights and UN 17 Development Goals. The students then built their society and shared their ideas in Minecraft, presentations or movies, and programmed a robot in Scratch that they think is needed in the future society.

“This year, 64 school classes from Vilhelmina in the north to Malmö in the south took part in the Code Challenge. This means that more than 1600 students have created a sustainable society on Mars,” says Emma Nääs, lead educator at Kodcentrum and an award-winning teacher who has been recognised for her approach to using digital tools. Emma continues, “This year’s entries were very ambitious, and it was clear that the students had put their heart and soul into the work.”

A jury including representatives from ABB, Chalmers, the Swedish Space Agency, Digitalidag, Microsoft, Ericsson and Nexer chose the winners. With fantastic entries from schools all over Sweden, the jury had a tough job selecting the winning entry and the two prize winners in positions 2-3.

Nexer’s Communications and Culture Manager, Beatrice Silow, a member of the Code Challenge jury, was impressed with this year’s entries.“It’s a privilege to see the fantastic, creative and clever entries that children from schools all over the country compete in the Code Challenge. I am so impressed by all the dedication and how professional they are. This is where many future entrepreneurs and programming stars see the light of day,” says Beatrice Silow.

To create an early interest in tech and digitalisation among young people, Nexer and Kodcentrum are also collaborating outside the Code Challenge with, among other things, “Kodstugor” at several of Nexer’s offices in Sweden, where children in grade 5 learn about programming and digital creation in a pedagogical way during a 10-week programme.

“Every week, children gather at Nexer and learn to code in a playful way. This is a step in the right direction to create new opportunities for the next generation of young coders in Sweden,” concludes Beatrice Silow.

The winning entries in the Code Challenge 2022
The winner and the two-second place were presented by Emma Nääs, Kodcentrum, and Lina Cronquist, Digitalidag, at an award ceremony on 9 December, where the jury and finalists participated via live stream.

Winners:
Barsebäcks Montessori School 5A in Kävlinge municipality

2-3 winners:
Vittra Forsgläntan 4 in Kungsbacka municipality
Toråsskolan 6A in Kungsbacka municipality

The annual competition is made possible by Kodcentrum’s main sponsors, Microsoft, Nexer Group, Schibsted, Spotify and Ericsson, and partners Digitalidag and Chalmers University of Technology.

For more information about the Code Challenge and Kodcentrum:https://www.kodboken.se/start/kodutmaningen

For more information about Nexer, please contact:
Beatrice Silow, Communications and Culture Manager, Nexer Group
beatrice.silow@nexergroup.com
+46 703 79 1506