Humans of Code Week – Elise-Marit Kippar, Code Week ambassador Estonia

Publication date: August 15, 2022

By Elise-Marit Kippar, Code Week ambassador Estonia

What sparked your interest in coding?

I studied to be a teacher at Tallinn University and learned during my studies that technology education and coding can be started at an early age, even from preschool. The first steps in the field of programming can be done without technology, for example, starting with simple thinking exercises and puzzles. While I learned about that, I realized that coding is not actually as difficult as it seems at first sight. This made me wanting to try it myself.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to learn coding?

Just give it a try and don’t worry, everyone can find something to their liking! If you do not know where exactly to start, ask for someone who might give you ideas; for example, EU Code Week Ambassadors can help you with these kinds of questions. And you can find information and learning materials from the EU Code Week website as well: https://codeweek.eu/.

What are the top three reasons why everyone should learn how to code?

The first reason is the fact that we live in a world where most areas of life are related to computers. That is why learning the skills of coding, analytical thinking and computational thinking is extremely important. Secondly, through coding and computational thinking anyone can become a creator. You can create animations, digital games and mobile apps, build and program robots, explore the 3D world, design a smart home and do many other exciting things. Thirdly, coding skills can create excellent opportunities in your life; for example, it can widen your career opportunities or help in your current job. You don’t have to be an expert in coding to reap the benefits.