HerHackathon: 42 female coders take to the starting line

Women in the tech world? Rather the exception. This makes formats that network and empower female coders all the more important. Take the HerHackathon at Mannheim Castle from July 7 to 9: around 200 women from all over the world will be working in teams, solving programming tasks and exchanging ideas. Students Eunsol and Anouk compete for the 42 - and win second place! MORE

Eunsol and Anouk are in Mannheim for their first hackathon. Anouk: “I've wanted to take part in a hackathon for ages and was actually just waiting for the right opportunity. I loved the concept of the HerHackathon - and we put together a team straight away!” The group of six decided to take on the Schwarz IT challenge. The task: to find new solutions to make shopping easier for people with physical disabilities. Eunsol: “When I saw the task, I thought: How is that going to work in such a short time? Then you get to grips with it and somehow it works. It's basically like the Piscine.”

The students developed an app prototype in just 48 hours. The core idea: using a buddy system to connect people who need help with physically healthy people. The latter receive a voucher for the respective supermarket for their support. The 42 coders win second place in their category and an exclusive meeting with Schwarz IT is already planned: The prototype is to be further elaborated for a pitch.

Boys Club

The fact that Anouk and Eunsol took part in a hackathon exclusively for women was more of a coincidence. Anouk: “But I think it's incredibly important that formats like this exist. Many women see the programming world as a boys' club where they just don't belong.” She points out that the HerHackathon is shaping completely new images and portraying female coders as a matter of course.

There is also still some catching up to do at 42: the school's proportion of women is currently 18%, similar to other STEM degree courses. There are simply relatively few women applying to the Piscines. However, this is not an obstacle for the female students in their 42 everyday lives. Eunsol: “Of course we are in the minority here. Nevertheless, the work processes are by no means male-dominated. We have a strong community here and support each other, regardless of gender. That's another reason why it was the ideal place for me to start coding.”