Creative technology club gives high school students the chance to explore the technology of the future

A new collaboration between the University of Gävle and Gävle Municipality aims to inspire young people to develop their interest in technology.

Through a creative technology club, young people interested in technology and programming have the opportunity for extra challenges and fellowship with like-minded people.

The club is newly started and meets on Wednesdays. It is a collaboration between the University of Gävle and Education Gävle in Gävle municipality, with support from the Ljungberg Fund and volunteers.

– We want to create an environment where young people can be challenged and develop in technology, programming and creativity. At the same time, they get an insight into what it can be like to study at a university, says Sofia Lord, environmental strategist at Utbildning Gävle.

Participants will meet in the Exploratory Learning Lab at the University of Gävle - a creative environment where technology and pedagogy mix. Here, participants can try everything from game-based learning and programming with Lego Spike and Dash & Dot, to video production, music creation and VR (virtual reality).

The high school students who are invited - up to twelve per round - will have a say in the content of the club. The meetings are led by students from the University of Gävle and volunteers hired by Gävle municipality.

– An important part of the initiative is student influence. The idea is that the students themselves will be able to explore new technology and that we build the content of the meetings based on the students' own interests, says Sofia Lord.

Text: Anna Sällberg