He defied convention by turning his love for coding into something more than just a pet project. At a time when most Xth graders have their noses buried deep in books gearing up for board exams, 15-year-old Krish Samtani has managed to strike a fine balance between his passion and academics.
The Bengaluru teen took his love for coding a notch further by setting up 0Gravity, a free coding club that opened to resounding response in his hometown. After that, Samtani decided to expand his project further and launched a Chennai edition as well.
The club encourages students, between the ages of 10 and 16, to participate in coding workshops that typically span three to four months. 0Gravity partners with local NGOs and schools to enroll children interested in the course and initiates them into the world of coding using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Initially launched in the city earlier this year, it is now set to reach an important milestone this weekend. “This Saturday, November 25, we have a special event by 0Gravity that is being hosted by Saggezza. We are bringing in leading industry experts and academicians to interact with children and discuss the application of computer science in different fields and industries. We will also close the ongoing Fundamentals of Programming workshop and open registrations for our next workshop: Web Programming and Python, which will be a three-month-long, free workshop for interested children,” says Samtani, adding that Saturday’s event will be held at Saggezza’s facility in IIT-M Research Park.
Talking about what drives him to host such workshops, Samtani says that it is in the hope of inspiring other children and creating awareness about applied computer science.
“We aim to make the learning experience as fun and enjoyable as possible. Our coding clubs are held at a corporate site to expose students to professional settings and parent involvement is encouraged. There are interactions with industry leaders as well as academicians.”
The club has so far held different programmes in both Bengaluru and Chennai, with Samtani routinely making presentations at corporations for their CSR departments. Currently, preparations are underway to initiate this movement in the UK as well.
“We’re gearing up to launch a coding club in Sunderland. We are being sponsored by the local government city council, who will help by bringing in children and providing volunteers from local universities or firms. The programme will be run as an after-school activity. In our first batch, which launches on January 20, 2018, we’re looking to bring in about 10 to 15 kids,” says Samtani.
Talking about his future plans for the club, Samtani says he is looking forward to scaling up the movement and getting more companies to participate in it.
“We hope to educate upto 10,000 children in the next five years,” says Samtani.
The 0Gravity event is being held at Saggezza in IIT-M Research Park, Taramani, on November 25 from 2 pm to 4 pm. To register, log on to www.0gravity.org or mail krish@0gravity.org.
