Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton TD has launched a research report into CodePlus, a computing education outreach programme for female students.
The report shows 23,000 female post-primary students have taken part in CodePlus, with 6,450 engaged in activities and learning in 2024/25 alone. A total of 18,018 career talks were given to female students by female role models and more than 1,300 female students went on company visits to learn about opportunities for a career in the sector.
"The findings published today speak for themselves," said Minister Naughton at the report launch.
"More than 23,000 students have taken part in CodePlus to date, with more than 6,400 engaging in the last academic year alone. That is a powerful indicator of both demand and impact.
"Programmes like CodePlus are essential if we are serious about increasing participation in STEM and building a more diverse, inclusive workforce for the future. This is about giving young women the confidence, the skills, and the visibility they need to make informed choices about their education and careers," she added.
The aim of CodePlus is to encourage female students in post-primary schools, especially from areas of socio-economic disadvantage, to learn more about computer science so that they can make informed decisions about pursuing studies at third level.
The CodePlus programme involves coding workshops, techtalks with female role models and site visits to industry partners.
Professor Corneila Connolly at the University of Galway said that the research shows these students that there is a pathway for them in the tech field.
"Helping students and teachers cultivate powerful computing skills is one of the most important ways to ensure computing and digital technologies, such as AI, expands opportunity to everyone in society.
"We are showing Computer Science is not just a subject in school – we are showing young, educated, eager female students that there is a path for them to a career of their choice in this field," Professor Connolly said.
CodePlus began in Trinity College Dublin in 2015. In 2020, with support from Lero, the Taighde Éireann-Research Ireland Centre for Software and funding under the Discover programme, the initiative expanded at University of Galway and University of Limerick. It aligns with policy developments happening through the Department of Education, including the new primary curriculum and Senior Cycle review.
CodePlus is supported by philanthropy and industry, including Google.org, Fidelity Investments, Bank of America, and Huawei.
