Coder Dojo fans to pitch new ideas

Ireland's best and brightest coders will be given the opportunity to hone their pitching skills at the upcoming Coolest Projects event in the RDS, Dublin next month.

The Openet Pitching Stage will give the children taking part in Coolest Projects the chance to sell their idea to the crowd, helping them to develop useful skills.

Openet's Joe Hogan said it was apparent after last year's event that there was no shortage of kids with ideas, and many who could code the ideas within the Coder Dojo clubs. However, when it came to pitching ideas, the format may not be as refined.

“I thought we could lift it up a bit. It’s not just about producing a new crop of coders for the software industry,” said Mr Hogan. “Presentation skills in general are lifelong skills.”

The Openet Pitching Stage will assign participants a time slot, if they want to take part, to come out and sell their idea to judges on a low-rise, boxing ring-style, 360 degree stage. Each pitch will be five minutes long, and will be handled through an interview with RTÉ DJ and presenter Stephen Byrne.

A number of awards will be made, with participants presented with mocked up Lotto-style cheques in recognition of their pitch, and Amazon vouchers.

Coolest Projects grew out of the Coder Dojo movement, and gives children involved with the scheme a chance to showcase their work.

The event has grown from 30 projects to 260 last year, when it outgrew its original site in DCU. This year, the event has moved to the RDS, and has been capped at 550 projects. In addition to Irish Coder Dojo attendees, there are a number of projects from overseas, with children from Italy, Belgium and Scotland, among others, travelling to take part.

“The country will certainly be in a very good place in the future when this wave of kids are out there,” said Mr Hogan.

Coolest Projects is at the RDS on June 13th.