International Women’s Day Competition for Girls: Empower, Inspire, Achieve!

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we’re excited to invite girls in years 7 to 12 to participate in our special competition to win prizes.

UCL Computer Science International Women's Day Competition Banner

Challenge 1: Year 7-9

Design a poster, infographic, or short video (screen recording) that shows how technology can empower women and girls around the world. Think about areas like education, online safety, healthcare, or career opportunities!

Suggested Free Tools:

Challenge 2: Year 10-11

Develop a simple website, app, or game to raise awareness of a gender equality issue. Your project could educate others on women’s rights, highlight inspiring women in STEM, or help promote inclusivity in tech!

Suggested Free Tools:

  • Scratch (game design) – scratch.mit.edu
  • HTML/CSS/JavaScript (web development) – Replit or Glitch
  • MIT App Inventor (app creation) – appinventor.mit.edu

Challenge 3: Year 12

Use data science or programming to analyse gender inequalities and propose a tech-based solution.

You can investigate issues such as the gender pay gap, representation of women in STEM, or online safety and use data to communicate your findings.

Suggested Free Tools:

  • Python (pandas, matplotlib, seaborn) – Google Colab
  • Excel/Google Sheets (data analysis & visualisation)
  • Datawrapper (easy interactive charts & maps) – www.datawrapper.de

Guidance & Support:

Need help getting started? Choose from these datasets to analyse:

Gender Pay Gap Data (UK Gov)

Women in STEM Representation (UNESCO)

Global University STEM Enrolment Data (World Bank)

Step-by-Step Approach:

1) Choose a dataset – Find one that interests you.

2) Clean & analyse the data – Use Python (pandas) or Excel to explore trends.

3) Visualise insights – Create graphs using matplotlib, seaborn, or Datawrapper.

4) Summarise your findings – Explain how your data highlights gender inequalities and propose a potential tech-based solution.

How to Submit:

Students may enter in teams of up to 4. To submit your work please download and complete the form below and email this with your work to cs.outreach@ucl.ac.uk with the subject: IWD Competition

ucl_cs_iwd_computing_challenge_form.docx

Deadline: 8 April, 2025

Prizes

£50 voucher for first prize winners

£25 voucher for second prize winners

Eligibility criteria

  • This competition is open to students that identify as women
  • Participants must be studying at a UK state school

If you have any questions please email: cs.outreach@ucl.ac.uk.