COLOMBO — In a sustained drive to bridge the digital skills gap, the STEMUP Educational Foundation has expanded its nationwide network of free Code Club workshops for school students aged 10 to 17 years.

Operating through regional public libraries, rural ICT resource centers, and community hubs across all provinces, the initiative provides students with hands-on, project-based tutorials in Scratch visual block programming, Python algorithms, and BBC micro:bit robotics.

Supported by volunteer professional software engineers and university undergraduate mentors, students learn to design basic video games, build automated weather stations, and program robotic obstacle avoidance vehicles.

Educational directors emphasized that early exposure to computational thinking and problem-solving logic equips children with the analytical confidence needed to thrive in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.