A TALENTED young Northsider has been declared EU Digital Girl of the Year for 2015 after dazzling tech experts in Brussels.
The 13-year-old Northsider is an expert at coding and has been developing apps and building websites since she was aged just nine after learning the skill at CoderDojo in Dublin City University.
“I’m really honoured to be named as an EU Digital Girl of the Year,” she said.
“Coding is a skill that I think all young people should get a chance to learn because it means you can not only use technology, you can create things with it too.
“Young people, teenagers and younger, around Europe and around the world are already learning to create and solve problems with coding, and it is going to be amazing to see what they do in the future with these skills.”
?¯
When Niamh was just 11 she built an app called ‘Recharge my eCar’ which won awards from Coolest Projects and Eir Junior Spider. The app is designed to help drivers of electric cars find available charge points.
For three years she’s mentored at CoderDojo in DCU, where she helps other young people – and particularly girls –learn how to create with technology. She is a member of the Digital Youth Council in Ireland and would like to see more coding and technology taught in schools.
Niamh also thinks more young people should have the opportunities that she has had thanks to CoderDojo.
“it’s really important that girls develop coding skills, because we need more women in science, technology, engineering and maths,” she said.
This is the second year in a row that a Dubliner has won the award for EU Digital Girl of the Year – last year the title was won by Southsider Lauren Boyle, a nine-year-old who founded the website Cool Kids Studio.
