Coding for Girls Champion
1497. Nishka Mathur
Nishka Mathur, aged 15, from London, is a young coder who has designed and delivered free workshops to over 1,000 girls in the UK and rural India from disadvantaged backgrounds to teach them how to code and encourage female education in STEM.
Whilst living in India, Nishka was a regular visitor at a local orphanage for abandoned girls, where she learnt that many girls were living there because their parents were illiterate, unskilled and unable to provide for them. The experience inspired Nishka to help provide underprivileged girls, both in India and at home in the UK, with tech skills to enable them to progress through education and employment. Nishka runs inclusive workshops and is also fundraising to provide girls in India with access to computers through a lending library style system. She is also an active member of Young Coders networks in the UK, helping to promote coding and STEM education for girls.
Nishka’s award follows the UN’s International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October, which addresses the challenges that girls across the world face and to promote their empowerment.
In a personal letter to Nishka, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“Thank you for all that you do to inspire and educate girls and young women through your fantastic STEM workshops in the UK and India.
“It is education that unlocks doors to opportunity and prosperity, helping young people from every background transform their own lives and change the world for the better.”
Nishka said:
“I am delighted to be honoured with this award, which has inspired me to carry my work on further. I hope to motivate even more young people, especially girls, to become excited about STEM and coding.”