The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) announce the success of the " Coding for Better Life, Building the Foundation for Thailand's Future Project". It reveals an excellent response from teachers, students, parents, and the public nationwide. Key accomplishments of the project include upgrading coding infrastructure for 1,500 schools across the country; coding bootcamp for over 3,200 students and teachers participating in intensive coding skill development activities; creating public awareness for more than 116,000 people about coding through the Coding Roadshow activities having more than 900 creative coding projects created by students and teachers as part of the initiative.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, President and CEO of depa reveals that the "Coding for Better Life: Building the Foundation for Thailand's Future Project" is part of a long-term plan. The goal is to develop teachers capable of passing on coding knowledge and skills to students for future generations. Along with enhancing infrastructure to support learning and teaching, the project aims to cultivate digital warriors that are ready to build the country's future and alleviate the shortage of skilled digital workers. This initiative aligns with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society's (MDES) policy to drive the digital economy and society by increasing the nation's digital human capital.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon continues stating that over the years, depa has consistently prioritized the development of coding skills for Thai youth since 2018. The goal is to lay the foundation for future digital skills and address the country's shortage of digital talents. The "Coding for Better Life, Building the Foundation for Thailand's Future Project", is a collaboration between MDES and depa, integrating efforts with a network of partners to promote the creation of a digital ecosystem that supports the development of coding skills for students, teachers, and educational staffs. This is achieved through the upgrading of coding infrastructure under the concept of "Coding Skills for Applying in Everyday Life," by supporting over 20 specialized courses from partner networks and providing digital teaching tools. The initiative has been implemented in 1,500 schools nationwide.
Additionally, the project includes activities such as Coding Bootcamp & Coding Roadshow and Coding War across 8 regions of the country taking place in many provinces including Khon Kaen, Bangkok, Ubon Ratchathani, Phitsanulok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Chonburi, and Songkhla. Over 3,200 teachers and students from participating schools joined the Coding Bootcamp to learn intensive coding skills both theoretical and practical sessions from the country's renowned experts. They also had the opportunity to create coding projects. Parents, guardians, and interested members of the public participated in the Coding Roadshow activity, which was held both on-site and online along with the Coding Bootcamp activity, attracting over 116,000 people.
The Coding War activity engaged over 5,000 participants, or 1,250 teams across the country with the top 100 teams advancing to a more intensive coding development round before competing in the finals. The top 10 teams from primary and secondary schools received scholarships and digital equipment worth over 1 million baht as prizes. The Coding for Better Life project also resulted in over 900 coding projects created by teachers and students nationwide.
The Coding for Better Life project has received significant support from the private sector. Suntory Beverage & Food (Thailand) Co., Ltd., which had continuously supported the project by donating Micro:bit devices to schools as part of the upgrading coding classroom activity with a contribution valued at over 1 million baht. The company also supported the AI Roadshow, which inspired youth, teachers, parents, and the public in 8 provinces about AI in various career fields. Additionally, the company supported cash prizes and BRAND's Essence of Chicken Drinks for a year to the winning teams in both primary and secondary school categories along with 2 special awards totaling valued over 600,000 baht in the Coding War activity.
Other private companies including Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd., supported the project by providing the HUAWEI CLOUD DEVELOPER course; True Corporation Public Co., Ltd provided learning vouchers through TRUE DIGITAL ACADEMY; AIA Thailand contributed funding to schools participating in the project; Tero Performance Course supported the project with courses aimed at instilling coding knowledge among youth helping Thai children grow into skilled digital warriors for driving the country towards a digital economy and society effectively.
"MDES and depa hope that the Coding for Better Life Project will be a significant step in elevating Thai youth to become a digital workforce and professionals of the country. We also extend our gratitude to the teachers who nurture these young students, as they are the seeds that will grow into vital contributors to driving Thailand forward amidst the evolving digital economy and society," said the President and CEO of depa.
More information and details about the "Coding for Better Life, Building the Foundation for Thailand's Future Project", can be found at www.depa.or.th, www.codingthailand.org, and depa Facebook page "depa Thailand" and "CodingThailand by depa".