Why TechAdventure?

So we're getting awfully close to the first TechAdventure camp with only 1 day to go to TechAdventure 2014 at Foxlease in Hampshire, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to give a bit of background about how TechAdventure got started when where it might hopefully go in the future. Girlguiding has always been part of my life - I started in Bunnies (now called Rainbows) when I was 5 and have been involved ever since (not even going to count up how many years that is as it's too many to admit). I'm now a leader with Ahoghill Community Guides and have been for over 15 years and even though it's sometimes difficult to juggle work and family and still have enough time to give to Guides, there's still something that keeps drawing me back to that great bunch of girls and women that I feel I belong in. Guides was also the place that I learned a whole bunch of things that for a 13 year old girl would maybe be slightly out of the ordinary - I can wire a plug, change a car tyre, tie a reef knot, perform CPR and make a bedding rack out of poles and sticks all from my time in Guides. That's what started me thinking about TechAdventure being something that I would like to give back to Guiding. Guiding was also part of the reason why I had the courage to study Computer Science at university as it had instilled in me the thinking that girls and women can go into any career they put their mind to and can bring immense value to working environments that are traditionally inhabited by men. I now work for a great company called Kainos as a Principal Architect and have been there since my placement year at University. I can honestly say that I love my work and have been given so many opportunities to work in different roles and in interesting and challenging projects. I started out as a Software Engineer and while I still enjoy tinkering with code, the experience that I've gained over the years means that I'm better placed now managing how we deliver software and engage our customers than writing code as my day job. I see so many fantastic Software Engineers coming up through Kainos, and while we have a great female representation in the company, it could be much better. And as I look at the wider IT industry, there are so many great opportunities right now - I want more young women to be inspired to get involved in computer science and make a difference in the world of IT. So where better place to start than with Girlguiding where learning new skills and encouraging girls to make their mark on society are part of the core values of the organisation. Technology is now such a big part of girls lives outside of Guiding (I'm sure every Guide unit has a shoebox like ours to put all the mobile phones in at the start of the night), I believe the girls can benefit from having technology as part of the Guiding programme - a skill that will help them to think logically about problems and potentially give them more options in their careers in later life. TechAdventure is where my world in Kainos and Girlguiding meets. Kainos as a company is also passionate about nurturing the next generation of technologists and engineers and has supported me by provided investment of both money and people to allow me to realise my vision for TechAdventure. Five other female employees from Kainos will be travelling to Foxlease with me this weekend to help run workshops and mentor the girls as they work in groups to explore the world of programming. I've also had terrific support from Jo Kerr in Girlguiding who is the Head of Digital Marketing at headquarters in London, and through her have gained interest from Google and Raspberry Pi who are now also providing technology and people to help facilitate the camp. The camp is being run as a regional event with Girlguiding South West England who have been excited about being involved from the moment I got in touch with them - we have 5 volunteers coming along to provide supervision and outdoor activities for the girls and the Chief Commissioner, Solange Rebours will be coming along on Sunday morning to be part of our 'Dragons Den' panel that the girls will be presenting their ideas and achievements to. It's shaping up to be a fantastic weekend - we have 33 girls signed up to attend from all over South West region - we even have one girl coming over from Guernsey. We have workshops lined up for Raspberry Pi, Scratch and AppInventor, we'll be doing some Geo-caching on Saturday afternoon (good mix of technology and outdoors) and in true Guiding style, we'll be sitting around the campfire on Saturday night toasting marshmallows. We also have another camp planned with Girlguiding Ulster for Easter 2015 so it's looking like this could turn out to be a regular occurrence!!