Lenovo Peru and Crack the Code sponsor educational VR competition for kids

Contxto – Children between 11 and 13 from Lima, Arequipa and Piura will soon develop educational virtual reality projects in the second annual Tec4Kids competition sponsored by Lenovo Peru and Crack the Code. 

“We want to provide an educational tool to children so they can have fun while learning what motivates them to learn,” said Andrés Becerra, general manager of Lenovo Peru.

Since last year’s focus revolved around the health sector, this cycle emphasizes improving education through technology. Projects must also have some sort of societal improvement component.

“With Tec4Kids, we not only want to contribute to the integral development of young people as part of the ‘Lenovo Contigo’ program, but we also want to show that technology can improve people’s lives and that there is no age to get involved in a project that helps society,” said Becerra.

Lenovo will provide the equipment and transportation costs while Crack the Code plans to teach programming to participants. 

Registration runs until September 1, according to the event website. We can expect to hear the chosen participants on September 20. 18 children from three cities will end up participating in the 12-hour VR workshop over the course of six weeks.

Judges will evaluate teams based on their teamwork, the solution to a societal problem, as well as overall digital skills development. The winners will receive a Lenovo laptop while second will walk away with Mirage Solo Lenovo VR glasses. 

Last year’s winners

Valente Pineda (11) and Mateo Ramirez (12) came out on top last year with their “Imagination Island” VR prototype. Based on the health theme, teams developed immerse VR environments aimed at reducing pains among pediatric cancer patients.

The duo built this product from scratch using a videogame design platform. Together, they made a virtual outdoor recreation area for children with cancer to explore and immerse themselves.

Crack the Code

“Today’s students, tomorrow’s leaders” is Crack the Code’s mantra. This startup teaches young children coding technology to prepare them for future job demands. In turn, children will develop into creators of new technology based on the group’s various courses.

This is the second year that Crack the Code has participated in the event. At the end of the day, it all comes down to promoting educational opportunities for kids through technology.

“With Tec4Kids Second Edition, we want to show that we can take the competition to another level,” said María Vélez, CEO of Crack the Code. “Education is something that touches the lives of every student in the country and with this initiative, we seek to improve children’s learning.”

-JA