IMFD intensive workshop participants and Pro Girls compete in OCI 2023

December 2023 - In December an intensive training was held only for girls who wanted to prepare to compete in the Chilean Informatics Olympiad, the most important competitive programming event in the country.

This intensive training, in which 21 girls were enrolled, is part of the activities carried out by the Millennium Institute Foundational Research on Data (IMFD) in partnership with the Girls Pro Foundation, to stimulate the participation of more women in this area of STEM, until now traditionally led by men.

Of the initial 21 participants, four girls decided to undertake an additional three-session training that took place at the IMFD offices. These sessions included a mock Olimpiada Chilena de Informática (OCI), held on December 14, which involved solving problems using programming techniques for four continuous hours.

The four participants of the IMFD-Niñas Pro Intensive Training (three from Santiago and one from Quilpué who trained remotely) not only competed in the OCI, but all scored points, that is, they were able to complete at least some of the exercises in the time required by the OCI. Their tutors were Camila Quilapes, Felipe Lizama and Diego Salas.

Gabriela Relos, the competitor who obtained the highest score (135, placing 15th out of 32 participants, in the image below), says that she became interested in the world of computer science at the age of 10, thanks to her uncle who had studied this career and began to teach her. In 2023 she joined the Niñas Pro workshops and that boosted her enthusiasm and knowledge.

Among the elements of being part of the Chilean Informatics Olympiad, Gabriela emphasizes that "what I liked most was the community and how they receive you. I think the atmosphere is very pleasant and they are always trying to support you as much as possible". In addition, meeting People who share her tastes and knowledge has been very important. That is why she invites other girls not to be afraid to compete: "The message is that they should come, that nothing happens, it doesn't matter if they get 0 points, because the experience and practice makes you become better".

For María José Parra Miranda, competing allowed her to meet many People deeply motivated to enter the world of programming and technology. The young student, who graduates in 2024 from 4th grade, would like to motivate more women to participate in this type of activities: "The percentage that participates is very small, but competing helped me to really know and understand programming. That's why I would like to tell them to give it a try, because it is true that it is competitive, but you have to prepare yourself, practice with online exercises and not be ashamed to participate in the OCI. If you don't enter, that's fine; but if you do enter, give it a try".

Romina Parra has a similar experience, whose first approach to programming was in the Computational Thinking Course for Pro Girls. "There we were motivated to join the OCI. I didn't really want to participate, because I was hesitant and told myself that I wouldn't do well. But they convinced me and in the end I was able to do it and I still got 100 points. Today I realize the progress I have made and it has been very significant".

The Millennium Institute carries out this and other activities in alliance with Niñas Pro, such as Arduino Quest, which invites you to enter the world of programming even if you have no knowledge, making projects with arduino kits. With these alliances we have been able to progressively increase the percentage of girls in competitive programming events.