Fresh off the heels of an intensive 10-week course, a group of youngsters have earned their coding stripes and will present the fruits of their labor at the Newark Kids Code showcase hosted at NJIT Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom.

Sponsored by The Urban League of Essex County, Newark Kids Code is an educational initiative designed to introduce technologically disadvantaged and underrepresented youth to programming, coding and other digital and computer technologies.

NJIT senior and information technology major Paul Rajah, along with eight of his NJIT classmates, served as mentors and instructed the free course at North Star Academy Charter School in Newark, where students learned how to write code to create video games, animations and music.

Speakers at the culmination ceremony will include NJIT President Joel S. Bloom, a staunch supporter of the integration of coding into curricula as early as kindergarten, Sen. Teresa Ruiz, parent leaders and Newark Kids Code program director and former city Councilman Darrin Sharif, who launched the program in an attempt to address the digital divide and equip children living in low-income families with the skills needed to help achieve socioeconomic mobility.

"We have to prepare people for the pipeline,'' said Sharif in a recent interview with The  Star-Ledger. “We want our kids ready for them."

NJIT’s Career Development Services partnered with the Urban League and the kids code program via its Civic Engagement Computer Center and America Learns program. The Civic Engagement Computer Center—currently led by Rajah—is a student-staffed resource of technical computer support through virtual volunteer projects for community agencies. The center provides an avenue for NJIT students to connect their academics skills with civic engagement experience.

By Shydale James
sjames@njit.edu