b'BRIDGE 21 Department of Computer Science and the In 2015, in response to the persistent lowSchool of Education.An inter-faculty research numbers of women in CS, we launched a girls-You should be careful who you go for lunch with centre, the Centre for Research in IT in only oering called CodePlus, which provides ain college!Back in the late 1990s, I found myself Education (CRITE), was also created at a time customised version of our CS workshops as wellsitting with Michel Mac an Airchinnigh from CS (1999) when such collaborations between the as talks in schools by female engineers andand Ann Fitzgibbon and Elizabeth Oldham from two ends of campus were unusual. visits to the oices of tech companies to meetEducation. The topic of conversation was how to women working in the industry.respond to an ongoing debate as to should Our combined insights, and a grant via the NGOComputer Science be oered as a Leaving SUAS from the Governments Dormant Accounts Over the years, the relationship with TAP hasCertificate subject. Elizabeth had long been a Fund, led to the setting up of Bridge2College, deepened. In 2014, we jointly received a mostchampion of the cause, and had worked on the housed in two old PC labs in Oriel House. We generous grant from Google.org to fund a majorComputers in Education Graduate Diploma, an began running technology workshops for expansion, including professional developmentevening course set up by Professor Byrne in Transition Year students from schools linked to for teachers to assist them to teach using the1973; it addressed a wide range of areas in CS the Trinity Access Programmes (TAP). Since pedagogical model developed by Bridge21 andand education, notably emphasising the 2007, over 15,000 students have passed through to learn how to teach coding.Through theteaching of COMAL to teachers.Oriel House, and in 2012 the programme was support of many donors and the Socialrenamed Bridge21 to highlight the importance Innovation Fund Ireland, this programme hasA major concern was where the supply of of helping students develop key 21st century grown, and we are now working with 20 schoolssuitably qualified teachers would come from, skills like communication and collaboration.with plans for further expansion. and this led to the launching of a new MSc in ITin Education run jointly between the47'