There are over 300,000 software developers working in the UK alone, and according to The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that software developer jobs will increase by 30 percent between 2016 and 2026 as new technology emerges. Here at GitHub, we want to help teachers train the next generation of software developers.
GitHub Education helps students, teachers, and schools access the tools and resources they need to learn all about software development. It is used by 1.6 million students and more than 27,000 teachers. For teachers, the GitHub Student Developer Pack is a way to encourage your students to learn with industry-standard tools, so they can shine on technical teams once they start their career.
Introduced six years ago, the GitHub Student Developer Pack was built to provide students with the exact tools they needed to learn about software development. Since then, we’ve continued to listen to feedback from students and teachers around the world to make sure we’re bringing you the tools you want to enhance your training. The Pack provides students with the opportunity to develop their software portfolios, be it building a new desktop app, or creating an interactive map.
This year, the pack includes over 50 of the best industry developer tools, which represent over £52,000 in the total value of services but at no cost to students. Resource and tools found in the Pack range from:
AWS Educate, reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services, free training, and collaboration resources
Bootstrap Studio, desktop app for creating responsive websites using the Bootstrap framework
Better Code Hub, an online source code analysis service
So far, the program has provided over 1.5 million students around the world with the best real-world developer tools for free, and is promoting the importance of computer science to more students. It’s available for all verified students aged 13+, anywhere in the world where GitHub is available. They can join the Pack to receive GitHub Pro at no charge while in school and university, and receive exclusive offers from GitHub Education partners. 
The purpose is ultimately to show future software developers how we can use code to speak to machines, to each other, and help build the world around us. In addition to the Pack, GitHub Education is deepening its commitment to the education community through offerings such as new learning modules for the Campus Advisor Program to prepare teachers to teach with Git, GitHub, and other industry tools in their classroom.
An example of how professors use GitHub Education comes from professors Keith O’Hara and Sven Anderson at Bard College, New York, USA. They wanted to make significant strides in the diversity of computing, and sought to do so by connecting computing to other disciplines, like art and biology. They ran a workshop using GitHub Education teaching students how to write algorithms to generate poetry, make a robot sing and dance, or create virtual fish for a group fish tank. These fun and engaging workshops are helping to change attitudes towards computer science, and other STEM subjects.
If you’re looking for other inspiring coding projects to start with your pupils, check out the GitHub Student Gallery.
