GirlsCodeToo
GirlsCodeToo
PEOPLE

GirlsCodeToo is composed and operated by a passionate team of individuals. This includes students, professors, industry professionals & parents.

MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP

Lara Riparip

David Cleres

VOLUNTEERS

Philipp Herrmann 

Radhika V Bhogaraju

Timo Nicolai

Timo Nicolai

INSTRUCTORS

Xenia Augustin

Jelena Trišović

Aneska Heidemüller

Sahana Betschen

Angelika Atienza

Angelika Atienza

SUPERVISORY BOARD

Julia Chatain

Monica Landoni

Edith Schnapper

Stefano Brusoni

Scilla Zischek

Matthias Ogg

ADVISORY BOARD

Caroline Perriard

                                      CROWDFUNDING 2022 – SUPPORTERS 

Florian Gubler

      Lea Hasler,      Geschäftsführerin IngCH Engineers Shape our Future

       Christoph               Baumann

    Matthias Ogg

Fabio Armon Camichel

CO-FOUNDERS

Lara Riparip

David Cleres

Alicia Cesa Bianchi

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Join the Team

GirlsCodeToo is composed and operated by a passionate team of individuals. This includes students, professors, industry professionals & parents. If you would like to be part of this initiative and contribute to the social cause we work towards, please contact us!

VOLUNTEER

Do you feel motivated to volunteer for GirlsCodeToo initiative? There are many way in which your help can contribute to our mission!
We are looking forwards to hear from you!

Join Us

DO AN INTERNSHIP

Are you currently doing your Bachelors degree in a Design or Technical field?
Are you passionate about gender equality in the tech world and would like to be part of a dynamic and passionate team?
Thank you in advance for your interest in joining our team. Female and Male applicants are all welcome!

Join Us

BECOME AN INSTRUCTOR

Are you a Bachelor or Master student in a technical field or have just finished your studies and are in a transition?

Do you feel motivated to inspire the younger generation to explore new technologies?
Than this is the right job for you!

Join Us

OFFER A TECH TALK

GirlsCodeToo offers TechTalks to our audience of girls (age 8-18), but these are also open to their parents and siblings.

The idea is not so much about giving a technical talk per se, but more about sharing your experience in the industry, your story, your motivations, moments of struggles and wins!

It is also about sharing what you love about your job and the path you took to get where you are today.

Join Us
GirlsCodeToo
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WHO ARE WE

WORKSHOPS

Newsletter

Lara Riparip

Co-founder, Content Developer & Labs Manager

A little background about myself, I graduated with my Master’s from ETHZ and UZH in Neural Systems and Computation, where I encountered a lack of female representation in my classes. I want to change this misrepresentation at the root – inspiring girls at a young age to pursue technology.

“Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.”
–Michelle Obama

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David Cleres

Communication Manager

Hi! I am David. As a life-long learner of computer sciences, I have attended and taught many courses in the field of technology and engineering. Year-after-year, I continue to see an under representation of women in many of my classes. I firmly believe that initiatives such as GirlsCanToo will positively impact the situation by teaching girls and young women the skills to make them successful today and flourish tomorrow. With our interactive tutorials and empowering atmosphere, we give girls the chance to discover, at their our pace and in a safe environment, the technical tools used daily in industry and academia. With our support, they learn the skills and confidence to continue pursuing opportunities in STEM. Exploring and understanding the biases women face everyday in our society by teaching technology classes in the context of GirlsCodeToo truly changed my perspective on many things, and it fills me with joy to see their progress each session!


“Don’t feel stupid if you don’t like what everyone else pretends to love”
Emma Watson

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Philipp Herrmann

People & Project Leader

Hi, I’m Philipp. I got in touch with GirlsCodeToo thanks to my daughter Livia, who participated in a Discovery Lab. It was empowering to see how engaged she was, and how what she learned lingered in her head for days after the course.

Why did I chose to contribute actively to GirlsCodeToo? The energy of the team and their firm belief in the good cause sucked me right in! I love organizing events, hosting, and just in general: anything that brings people together.

“The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”

–  Maria Montessori

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Radhika Varma Bhogaraju

Marketing Manager

Hi, I’m Radhika. I’m as analog a person as one can get. I still use a pen and paper to gather my thoughts and prefer a physical book to an e-reader. I came to technology very late, having always believed that I’m not a “tech” person. I come from a Hospitality & Retail background. In one of my previous roles with a Hospitality technology company, I was introduced to a whole new side of the business. I found myself using programs & technology that I was unfamiliar with and I learnt something new EVERY day. Since then I am on a mission to educate myself (and my daughters) about all things tech! I’m excited to be a part of the mission at GirlsCodeToo.

“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

– Albert Einstein

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Timo Nicolai

Timo Nicolai

Software Engineer

Hello there, my name is Timo and I’m an electrical and computer engineer who’s passionate about operating systems. I currently work in a small startup in Zug. Towards the end of my graduate studies, I noticed that most of the lectures in core computer science topics like operating systems, networking and digital circuits that I visited were almost exclusively taken by men. At the same time, I was working on similar topics in a company where my supervisor was a very accomplished woman who had a great impact on my future career. This made me wonder why the things that I was passionate about were not appealing to girls and young women when many of them definitely had the potential to achieve great things in these interesting and rewarding areas computer science.

So, when I moved to Switzerland two years ago, I was looking for opportunities to help teach girls that computer science can be fun and engaging for anyone regardless of gender. I stumbled upon GirlsCodeToo and was immediately impressed by their vision and the progress they had already made so now I try to contribute wherever I can.

“Most good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program.“
– Linus Torvalds

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Xenia Augustin

MSc in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, ETHZ

Hello, I’m Xenia! I already fell in love with math in elementary school and spent a lot of my free time solving problems for competitions. Later, I also discovered my passion for physics and computer science. Now in my studies, as a second-year master’s student in electrical engineering and information technology at ETH, I am able to combine all these fields. As a tutor, I hope to get many young girls excited about science and technology and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM fields as well. When I’m not studying, I’m outside doing sports and spending time with my dogs and my horse.

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Jelena Trišović

MSc in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, ETHZ

Hi, I’m Jelena! I am a doctoral student at the ETH AI Center, where I’m developing systems that enable robots to perform complex tasks. I obtained my Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, which was a perfect way to combine my three main interests: mathematics, physics, and programming. Though I developed my programming skills during my studies, I developed my other two interests much earlier. I competed on a national and international level in both mathematics and physics throughout primary and secondary school. As a contestant, not only did I gain invaluable experience and develop critical thinking essential for a career in STEM, but I also got the opportunity to travel and meet people from around the world! In addition to reading and playing board games with my friends, traveling has remained one of my favorite activities.

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Aneska Heidemüller

BSc in Elektrotechnik, ETHZ

My name is Aneska. I am a Bachelor student in electrical engineering and information technology. Originally, I am from Germany and moved to Switzerland just two years ago to study here at ETH Zurich and explore a new country. I started coding for school and soon got motivated to start my own game designs. Now, I am excited to show younger girls the opportunities of coding and teach them the basic skills, so they can create their own games and programs and explore what they can achieve. In my free time, I bake a lot, play card games and spend time with my friends.

Sahana Betschen

BSc in Computer Science, ETHZ

Hi I’m Sahana. I’m a bachelor student at ETH studying Computer Science. I learned about coding when I was 11 and I fell in love with it. I taught myself how to code and found camps and workshops for girls. The mentors and teachers really motivated me to learn about coding. Now in college, I am happy that I can teach young girls about coding, show them how fun it is and that girls can code. My free time is spent doing sports, like rowing and soccer and being outdoors with friends.

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Angelika Atienza

Angelika Atienza

MSc in Structural Engineering, EPFL

Hi I’m Angelika! I am a structural engineering master’s student at EPFL. I discovered coding late into my high school years and found it fascinating to build a simple website from scratch using HTML or transform mathematical concepts into functional code. Additionally, I love to teach, and I’m passionate about teaching coding to young girls, I think it’s a great opportunity for them as they will obtain valuable skills for the future. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my friends and trying out new recipes.

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Julia Chatain

Doctoral Student at ETH Game Technology Center

Julia Chatain is a Computer Science doctoral student at ETH Zürich between the Game Technology Center and the Professorship for Learning Sciences and Higher Education. As part of the Future Learning Initiative, she is exploring how new technologies can support mathematics education, and in particular, make mathematics more graspable (literally). Besides this, Julia takes part in outreach events to teach mathematics and computer science, focusing especially on gender equality.

“Education is not about filling buckets, it’s about lighting fires.”

–Stuart Firestein adapted from Plutarch

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Monica Landoni

Lecturer and researcher, Faculty of Informatics at USI

Dr Monica Landoni is a senior researcher at the Faculty of Informatics at the Università della Svizzera italiana, USI since January 2007. Previously, she was a lecturer in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences of the University of Strathclyde since 1997. She holds a PhD in Computer and Information Sciences from University of Strathclyde and a Laurea in Scienze dell´Informazione from Università degli Studi of Milan.

Her research interests lie mainly in the fields of Interactive Information Retrieval and Electronic Publishing, particularly in the area of design and evaluation of Child-Computer Interactions when reading, writing and searching. Other interests include:  Gender Balance in Informatics, Design for Inclusion, and Ethics in Computing.

“ Aspera ad astra” – Through hardships to the stars

“omnia munda mundis” – to the pure, all things pure

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Edith Schnapper​

Program Manager, SATW

Hi, I’m Edith. I work at the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) and I’m responsible for the promotion of young people in technology. I am in charge of the Swiss TecLadies program, which aims to attract more young girls to the technical and IT professions. I hold a bilingual Master’s degree in Applied Political Science and have worked in foundations, in public policy consulting and in economic diplomacy. I am passionate about education and gender issues. Contributing to a more open, tolerant and inclusive world is one of my  missions and the reason for my involvement with Girls Code Too.

I believe…
 
“Women belong in all places where decision are being made” –  Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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Stefano Brusoni

Professor at ETH Zurich

Stefano Brusoni is Professor of Technology and Innovation Management at ETH Zurich. Before and during his studies, he worked as a coder (using with languages that exist no more), served in the Fire Brigade (generating stories that improve every time they are told), did a variety of odd jobs that really he’d rather not talk about. He is interested in understanding how people –and organizations- develop habits, and how they change them. He has published quite broadly on and around these topics. He has also help set up a couple of start-ups, one of which is quite active in the EdTech Space (Sparkademy).

“Klaatu Barada Nikto’
– Helen Benson, who saved the world in 1951 (The Day the Earth Stood Still).

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Scilla Zischek

Program Manager School to Work transition, Pro Juventute

Hello, I’m Scilla. I am responsible for youth programs supporting the transition from school to work. My special focus is to convey the perspectives arising by innovation, digitalization and changes in the labor market especially in the STEM environment. I strive to strengthen the positive social impact and the accessibility for all social groups, especially for girls and disadvantaged youth. I also volunteer as an interpreter for school authorities, in the early school integration of people with migration backgrounds and as a contact person for families with physically handicapped children.

I believe…

“The secret of change is to focus the energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Modern adaptation from Socrates

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Matthias Ogg

Head Special Products at Zürcher Kantonalbank

Head Special Products in the Capital Markets Team atZürcher Kantonalbank where he structures andexecutes non-standardized debt capital marketsproducts and gives regulatory and rating agencyadvice to large corporate clients. He is alsoresponsible for ESG focused debt financings such asGreen, Social or Sustainability-Linked Bonds.Besides that, is passionate about doing yoga,playing golf, go for a hike or just a simple bikeride.

Everyone said, “You can’t do that!” Then someone came along who didn’t know that and just did it.

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Caroline Perriard

Co-Chief Executive Officer at BRANDIT.com

Caroline is advising companies about legal and compliance strategy of their digital transformation and the protection of their brands online.

She is the co-director of BRANDIT GmbH, a company providing tailored legal consultancy services in the IP and privacy fields including domain names, social media, digital and e-commerce. 

Caroline is a recognized expert in the field of brand strategy and data protection and is regularly an invited speaker at key events.

She is also the chair of the Swiss Women Lawyers association, which strengthens the social collaboration between women lawyers and support equal visions in research, teaching and law.

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Alicia Cesa Bianchi

Administer Manager

Hi! I am Alicia, a Social Anthropologist with a deep interest in education and community building. Being a passionate driven person, I work on projects where I see the prospect for contributing to a greater social cause. I was introduced to coding only in my mid-twenties, when moving to Zürich,  and I was immediately fascinated by this new world and the numerous possibilities it offers. I believe all girls should have the opportunity to learn about coding from a young age. It is my wish that as a society we go beyond our cultural biases which currently limit the next generation of female leaders and tech entrepreneurs. By providing girls from a young age, a safe and encouraging learning environment, we enable them with the needed skills and confidence to properly evaluate their options and go beyond the social and gender bias. 

“The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.” 

Lao Tzu 

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