
Full project title
CodER: Teaching coding and microcontrollers to young people through virtual Escape Rooms
Project Acronym:
CodER
Reference No:
2021-1-FR02-KA220-YOU-000028696
Coordinator/applicant
DIGIJEUNES
Country of coordinator
France
Programme/fund
Erasmus+
Project duration
Start date 01-12-2021
End date 30-11-2023
Project website
https://coderproject.eu/
Social media
https://www.facebook.com/coder.eu
The CodER project brought together a consortium of organizations from across Europe with a shared mission: to address educational gaps in programming skills and enhance youth employability through innovative, gamified learning. Through the use of educational escape rooms and non-formal learning approaches, the project aimed to make coding more accessible, engaging, and socially relevant for young people—particularly unemployed youth, NEETs, and girls underrepresented in tech.
Key Objectives:
- Equip youth workers and educators with practical tools and methodologies to teach programming.
- Promote coding as a creative, problem-solving skill using escape rooms, gamification, and VR elements.
- Provide hands-on training that bridges the gap between theory and real-world application.
- Inspire underrepresented and disadvantaged groups to explore career pathways in digital technologies.
Implementation: The consortium developed several core deliverables, including a gamified Escape Room platform focused on coding education. Key activities included:
- Transnational meetings (e.g., in Athens in October 2022 and June 2023) and regular online collaboration.
- Active partner engagement in the co-design and delivery of training content and tools.
- A series of innovative training activities targeting both youth and educators.
By merging technical training with creative educational design, CodER successfully fostered digital competencies and increased motivation for learning among diverse youth populations, supporting their integration into the evolving digital job market.