In Peru, public school students have little access to coding and programming since the subjects are not included in the regular curriculum. In 2020, Samsung opened its first Samsung Innovation Campus in Peru for the young generation with a passion for IT. In 2021, Samsung selected 150 middle school students from public schools who were ready to dive into the world of coding and programming.

Cristofer, Kassia, Ariana, and Keren are middle school students who participated in Samsung Innovation Campus. The rapid digital transformation in Peru triggered their interests to learn more about the future technologies and how to be better prepared.

Identifying personal career interests

Samsung Innovation Campus was an eye-opener for Cristofer who always wanted to learn coding and programming in depth. Thanks to the program, he coud identify his career interest in engineering. “Using the STEM knowledge I acquired, I want to try building a remote-control car,” says Cristofer. “In the long run, I would love to further my studies in engineering and be in the coding and robotics field!”

“I believe knowing how to program in the future will be equally as important as today’s reading and writing,” says his friend Keren. “I want to continue improving my abilities in coding and programming like Scratch, Rurple, and Python.”

Building confidence outside the comfort zone

Ariana first heard of Samsung Innovation Campus from her teacher. “Although coding and programming were new to me, I thought it could be an exciting experience.” With her classmates, Ariana learned how to code and run software like Arduino. She also had a chance to build IT equipment using the skills she had acquired. Ariana shares her feeling of being unstoppable, saying “Through coding, I can think, create and develop a solution that can help other people too.”

Samsung Innovation Campus was also an energy booster for Ariana’s classmate Kassia. She learned how to take better control of her emotions and communicate more efficiently with others through the soft skills training she received. “The course not only helped me to learn different programming languages but also taught me to realize the importance of communication – the importance of taking control of your feelings and working as a member of a team.”