From 29 June to 3 July 2026, the Pytch team was delighted to welcome participants from Teen-Turn’s STEM Inside programme for an exciting week of creative coding, culminating in a showcase event at Trinity College Dublin. Our workshops formed part of a wider multi-week STEM programme, with participants also engaging in activities delivered by leading technology companies including Rent the Runway and Accenture.

The programme brought girls together from counties across Ireland. Many joined our workshops virtually from their homes. Several participants also attended the week-long programme in person at The Digital Hub in Dublin. This blended approach enabled young people from a wide range of locations to take part, collaborate and develop their coding skills together.

Throughout the week, participants explored Pytch through a series of guided tutorials before creating and presenting their own original projects. It was fantastic to see their confidence, creativity and technical skills develop over just a few days.

✨ A Showcase of Creativity

The highlight of the week was the visit to Trinity College Dublin on Friday, 3 July, where participants presented the projects they had created using Pytch.

The variety and originality of the projects was truly impressive. Participants extended tutorial projects in imaginative ways, creating games inspired by gardening, space adventures, healthy habits, quizzes, sharks, rabbits collecting vegetables, Halloween-themed adventures and much more. Their projects featured creative graphics, engaging sound effects, customised game mechanics and thoughtful user interfaces.

What impressed the Pytch team most was not only the quality of the finished projects, but also the determination and enthusiasm shown by the participants. Many spoke about the challenges they encountered, the satisfaction of solving problems and the confidence they had gained throughout the week.

Some of our favourite reflections included:

“I found Pytch really easy to use and to follow.”

“Love Pytch.”

“Pieces of code make ideas come to life.”

“Amazing; never thought I’d be able to do stuff like this.”

💻 Learning Through Creative Coding

The showcase demonstrated how quickly learners can move from following tutorials to designing their own interactive programs when given the opportunity to experiment and be creative. It was particularly encouraging to hear participants describe how Pytch helped make programming approachable and enjoyable, whether they were completely new to coding or already had some experience with Scratch or Python.

Many participants continued developing their projects outside the scheduled sessions, adding new features and refining their ideas even after the programme had ended. Their enthusiasm and dedication reflected the confidence they had gained throughout the week.

🤝 Building Capacity Through Mentor Training

Alongside the student workshops, the Pytch team also delivered a Train the Trainer session for Teen-Turn volunteers and mentors. Developing mentor capacity is an important step towards making programmes like this sustainable. By supporting volunteers to become confident Pytch facilitators, we can help more young people access creative coding experiences in schools, community organisations and outreach programmes in the future.

Encouraging More Young Women into Computer Science

Increasing participation by girls and young women in computer science remains an important priority. Programmes such as Teen-Turn’s STEM Inside initiative provide welcoming environments where participants can develop technical skills, build confidence and discover that programming can be both creative and rewarding.

The positive feedback from participants, together with the quality of the projects they produced, highlighted the impact of providing supportive, creative learning environments that encourage girls and young women to continue exploring computer science.

💙 Thank You

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the programme and shared their creativity, enthusiasm and hard work throughout the week.

We are especially grateful to the Teen-Turn team for their fantastic partnership and collaboration throughout the programme. In particular, we’d like to thank Osas Samuel, Mentor and Research Assistant, whose exceptional organisation, encouragement and support helped make the week such a success. Our thanks also go to the Teen-Turn staff, volunteers and mentors who created such a welcoming, positive and inspiring learning environment for all the participants.

We would also like to express our sincere thanks to Workday for their very generous sponsorship, which helped make these workshops and outreach activities possible.

We look forward to seeing where these talented young coders go next and hope this is just the beginning of many more creative projects with Pytch.