NextGen Coders Network (NGCN)

Program Description

The NextGen Coders Network brought together multidisciplinary university students and young professionals from Iraq, the Palestinian Territories, and the U.S. for a virtual exchange to learn coding and collaborate on a website or application that tackled a grand challenge.

Participants completed a 10-week virtual “Hackathon,” using the online platform Canvas, which allowed them to experience a cultural exchange program from the comfort of their own home while they learned to code. The program was broken down into 10 modules, which covered everything from intercultural communication to project management, design thinking to coding for change, including the option to pursue coding for the web or coding for mobile applications. Participants completed the course requirements both individually on Canvas and as part of a team on WhatsApp and Skype. Teams were assisted by a facilitator, who guided participants through the course and provided help as required. 

Teams of up to six participants developed, planned, and carried out the creation of a project, which was presented during the Solutions Showcase at the end of the program. In the first semester, teams produced final projects on topics like education, refugee camps, and sports diplomacy. Upon completion of the program, participants were awarded a certificate of completion and joined the alumni networks of NGCN, World Learning, the Stevens Initiative, and the U.S. Department of State. 

Solving today’s grand challenges required a diversity of perspectives and professional backgrounds. Through NGCN, World Learning aimed to provide bright young professionals the resources and platform necessary to create innovative solutions to the problems they were passionate about.

NGCN’s regional partners included: 

BiteTech, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Palestine Polytechnic University, Partners for Sustainable Development, Save Youth Future Society,  Speak Now English Center, Volunteer With Us, Kuwait College of Science & Technology, and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of the Sciences to Partner. 

NextGen Coders Network was funded by the Stevens Initiative, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government, and was administered by the Aspen Institute. It was also supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.