Coding Education Challenge promises $500k for innovative ways to teach next-gen programmers

Non-profit organization The GNOME Foundation and philanthropic tech company Endless have teamed up to help the next-generation of coders by announcing the Coding Education Challenge. Endless has agreed to provide $500,000 to fund the competition.

The challenge’s aim is to attract projects that’ll bring new ways for educators and students to teach and learn coding through free and open-source coding software. Anyone and everyone is welcome to submit proposals that’ll be judged by three competition tiers: 

• Round One – The best twenty ideas will be selected from the open proposal stage to move onto the next round, as well as receive $6,500 in prize money.

• Round Two – From there, a proof of concept round will see those twenty ideas brought forward. The five best ideas from this round will move onto the final round along with $25,000 in prize money.

• Final Round – The final five will then work on turning their prototypes and projects into reality. The winning prototype will receive a grant of $100,000, with the second-placed project awarded $25,000 and walking away with a combined $50,000 from the last two rounds alone.

The two companies have a shared vision of nurturing the next-generation of coders and pushing out free, open-source coding software out into the world to make getting into coding much more accessible and available. This competition and the incentives it provides, both from a financial and practical nature respectively, will go a long way in expanding those principles.

“We’re eager to see the various ways that the GNOME Foundation and the wider community will create pathways for people into the world of free and open source software,” said Endless founder, Matt Dalio. “We fully believe in GNOME’s mission of making technology available and providing the tools of digital agency to all. What’s so unique about the GNOME Project is that it delivers a fully-working personal computer system, which is a powerful real-world vehicle to teach kids to code.

“There are so many potential ways for this competition to build flourishing ecosystems that empower the next generation to create, learn and build.”

“We’re very grateful that Endless has come forward to provide more opportunities for individuals to learn about free and open source software,” Neil McGovern, executive director of the GNOME Foundation, added.

“We’re excited to see what can be achieved when we empower the creativity and imagination of our global community. We hope to make powerful partnerships between students and educators to explore the possibilities of our rich and diverse software ecosystem. Reaching the next generation of developers is crucial to ensuring that free software continues for many years in the future.”

More details on the contest as well as how to enter can be found here.