Hi! My name is Dan. I’m 17 and I go to Slemish College in Ballymena, where I’m studying AS Software Systems Development, Business and Geography.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been really interested in computers, whether it be playing around with random Northwind Access databases or trying to access the hidden system files in Windows XP. As long as I can remember I’ve always been keen to know more, so whenever my mum told me that websites were made from ”code” on the way home from school one day in P2, I couldn’t resist trying it out. In the years since, my skills have developed tremendously – from making simple POS apps in C# to fully fledged software packages using a multitude of frameworks, just like the one I developed for IglooCode. Coding has always been a hobby of mine that I aspire to turn into a career. Projects like IglooCode have proven that I love developing in a team; messing around with pull requests and code reviews has been so fun – a highlight of the competition planning. There are so many different fields that I’ve had the opportunity to explore within computing, some even drawing in my other hobbies and interests. I’ve been able to play around with AI and ML in natural-language processing to further develop my love for linguistics, and I’ve also spent countless hours researching another great interest of neuroprosthetics and brain-computer interfaces (think, Sword Art Online).

It was always our goal to make IglooCode a worthwhile and important event for everyone who took part. IT and software is one of the fastest growing industries in Northern Ireland, so we made a huge effort to get the younger generation involved, and give them the chance to discover something they love, and to take advantage of the many opportunities out there. Integration was another huge theme, with us trying to get kids of so many different backgrounds to get to know each other, further proving that IT is for everyone, regardless of gender, religion, age, or background. IglooCode emphasized and challenged competitors on coding and computational thinking, but also soft skills like working under pressure and in teams to get a job done as efficiently as possible.

Aideen and I run Slemish’s Code Club, as we’re both really enthusiastic about passing on our skills and love for coding and tech to the next generation of programmers. IglooCode started as a day out to meet our friend Emma’s Code Club at Strathearn School in Belfast, but later developed into the county-wide event that took place in March. Emma, Aideen and I met during the 2022 CyberFirst Advanced course in Queen’s University, where we made loads of new friends who we’re still very close with today – most of the IglooCode staff team this year were also on the course. We really enjoyed the week, both due to the challenging environment of the competition at the end but also the social aspect, and wanted to pass this opportunity onto the younger years.

IglooCode was personally a very beneficial experience, owing to the fact that I was both part of the development and organization teams. Working alongside my friend Jake to put together the capture-the-flag software was one of the first times I have ever collaborated with someone else on a development project. I had the challenge of figuring out how Git pull requests and code reviews worked, not to mention the couple hundred times we had to fix merge conflicts. We also had to overcome the barriers of learning to use new frameworks and services, such as React and Cosmos DB, which we had never used before. On the organization side of things, I learned a lot about event management – everything from putting together the time plan for the day to organizing finances and liaising with Liberty IT, Kainos, Queen’s University, and all the schools involved. It was quite tough keeping track of everyone we were in contact with, and very stressful trying to get in touch with teachers who were late sending in their information! My time management skills were challenged too, as I had to balance my time between IglooCode and my AS coursework – my IT teacher would probably tell you that I was not very successful!

Overall, the feedback we received for the event was overwhelming positive. Aside from the small obvious issues of server load issues, it was extremely rewarding to hear the positive feedback from the competitors and teachers. The vast majority of schools who attended have said that IglooCode was an outstanding event which was very well organized, and have encouraged us to host the event again next year. It was also very encouraging to hear the positive feedback from our sponsors, especially about the software we developed.

We are all very keen to host IglooCode again next year, hopefully again with the support of Liberty IT, Kainos and Queen’s University, who we couldn’t have done it without this year thanks to their generosity and time they invested into getting us off the ground. This has been a phenomenal experience for both us and the competitors, and it would be a waste not to do it again!