Coding as a Gateway for Next-Gen Innovators

Coding as a Gateway for Next-Gen Innovators

• SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

With the lightning-fast speeds at which technology is growing and expanding, it would be safe to say that the next generations of tech workers will not function solely within the tech industry. Every industry will pull players from the tech talent pool, in turn making their industry more technologically advanced and disruptive.

To a degree, coding is a ticket to jump onboard this super-fast bullet train to the future. Coding is considered the language of technology, and if technology is the future, then coding is necessary.
However, we would argue that coding is not the be-all and end-all in this scenario and not the final destination, either. If anything, coding is a stepping stone towards creating a generation of innovators, creators, inventors and makers.

Here’s why we think of coding as a means to an end:

Tech languages change

Technology is ever-changing, based on innovation and dynamic markets. As a result, new languages crop up very frequently, often rendering previously preferred ones obsolete. In this context, coding isn’t enough to future-proof a child from a young age. Instead, learning to code in order to glean insights from the process and influence creative thinking is a much better approach. 

Coding influences an entrepreneurial mindset

Entrepreneurship involves thinking in a way that is geared towards problem-solving and creating solutions for others rather than yourself. Coding is your playing ground in this aspect– it is complex and used to give shape to your ideas rather than the other way round. The skills a coder develops over time – harboured on a solid foundation – will translate into creative thinking and broader skillsets that apply outside of the tech sphere as well.

Coding enables intersectionality

A quick look at today’s dynamics is testament enough to the fact that industries and use cases are intersectional. Artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning aren’t restricted to tech spheres– they play pivotal roles in everyday lives. As a result, coding develops thinking and approaches that work towards using technology in daily lives as well. If our first set of coders hadn’t exploited this advantage, we wouldn’t have Alexa and Google Assistant playing our favourite tunes every day!

Coding fosters resilience

Coding is a process of trial and error, failures and successes. In a way, that is also what the process of innovation looks like. Therefore, the resilience and go-getter attitude that is developed through hours of coding applies very well in the context of innovations and entrepreneurship.

Coding is a gateway, not the destination

The goal of coding shouldn’t be to teach just coding, but also to hone larger-than-life skills applicable across contexts. Through coding, students develop communication and collaboration skills, the ability to recognise opportunities as well as the willingness to take risks and embrace failure. They form a strong technological base to use as a springboard towards ideation and creativity.

This way, coding prepares students not to become coders – which they will be – but to become the next generation of innovators that the world will need to keep spinning on.

Modo Edulabs envisions a world where our children are futuristic, digitally savvy and technologically skilled - who go on to solve big problems using technology and create the next big innovations that will impact human lives. We prepare our kids for the 21st century through our innovative online courses and custom-designed programs.