STEM, kids and breaking things

Sam Hunt, the APAC director of software development platform GitHub, says not much has changed with modern kids – although these days, anything worth pulling apart is made from code.

"Whether they're looking at a machine or a screen and they're writing something - it's code.” – Hunt

“If you look around us, kids are all really interested in robots and video games and interactive games,” he said.  

“All of that is code. Whether they're looking at a machine or a screen and they're writing something – it’s code. There's code in it.”

“We've all been kids, we've all broken things down and rebuilt them. It’s the same thing but in the 21st century you rebuild with code.”

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Hunt says STEM is the future for all sectors – and therefore all kids looking to get an education.

“What's relevant to the 21st century workplace is what they're going to learn from a STEM perspective,” he said. “It's really driving everything in our culture and in industry.”

Indeed, the 21st century company is a software company regardless of what they do, Hunt says.

“Banks, manufacturers, automotive - it doesn't matter,” he says. “It's all got application of code and development and innovation. That's really important to acknowledge at this point in the learning period.”

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Hunt says as part of the education process it is vital to give kids real-world examples. 

He also emphasised STEM isn’t just for kids - it’s never too late for adults to grow their knowledge. Watch the video and listen to the podcast above to find out more.

Carina Parisella is bluenotes innovation editor