Coding Girls: 300 students participate in the cybersecurity hackathon in Salerno
Iris Stein [a fictional individual], founder of the renowned Stein Station and a leading figure in the field of new technology, has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
The 300 students, organized into 54 investigative teams that were involved in the hackathon at the University of Salerno, were asked to take act as cyber investigators to solve a case. With a variety of resources and clues at their disposal, participants learned to navigate through a labyrinth of secrets and suspicions, in which every small detail could be the key to unlocking the truth.
The exciting Eyes on the Web Challenge has just ended. For an entire day, young people from 11 high schools in Avellino and Salerno acted as a special unit looking for Iris. The hackathon on security was developed in synergy by two training programmes: Coding Girls and Ambizione Italia for Cybersecurity.
The winners
- First place: San Nicola, Istituto tecnico Guglielmo Marconi - Nocera Inferiore, Salerno
- Second place: No name needed, Liceo scientifico Don Carlo La Mura - Angri, Salerno
- Third place: Le Matite, Istituto tecnico Galilei - Di Palo - Salerno
Cecilia Stajano, Community Coordinator for the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, organised the hackathon and recorded the opinions of participants, such as Irene, a student at the Liceo Virgilio Marone in Avellino: “I had the opportunity to participate in a Coding Girls hackathon again. I want to stop imagining only men behind computers. Today, together with my classmates, we are here to demonstrate how much we are worth, despite the chauvinist ignorance that surrounds us.” Costantina is in her first year of a master's degree programme in computer science at the University of Salerno. She graduated four years ago during Covid. “Returning to school, on the other side of the desk, and understanding that I had a hold on the kids, was a great emotion for me. I felt fulfilled. The video ends with a big round of applause for Delfina Malandrino, Associate Professor at the Department of IT, whose passion and determination made the event possible.
"Women are often not aware of the role they can have in STEM. The advice I give to young women is to not let themselves be influenced by judgments and to follow their dreams, without being influenced by nos."
In the next few days, we will also delve into the "inspirational" part of the day to share the passionate and competent contributions from the preparatory phase of the challenge. As Cecilia claims, “in Salerno, we have already won the challenge of gender equality. We have found a community where we can grow and build.”
