Reading about coding gap spurred her to help pupils

Ms Huin Wai Mun was among six people and nine organisations honoured at IMDA's Partners' Appreciation event yesterday.
Ms Huin Wai Mun was among six people and nine organisations honoured at IMDA's Partners' Appreciation event yesterday.

After reading about the hard time a university student had from her peers, who questioned why she did not know the answer to a basic question she had asked in coding class, Ms Huin Wai Mun realised there was a gap to be addressed.

The 44-year-old wanted to help people like the student, who had less coding experience, to build a basic foundation and not feel left out.

So, the IT professional, who leads a team of programmers at semiconductor firm Micron Technology, decided to volunteer and teach primary school pupils from disadvantaged families coding for free under tech giant Google's Code in the Community initiative.

"Giving kids the opportunity to work with computers and phones can build their confidence in learning to use the devices and even coding," she said.

Ms Huin, who estimates she has volunteered about 80 hours since she started in 2019, was among six people and nine organisations honoured yesterday at the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) annual Partners' Appreciation event at Suntec Singapore.

They were recognised for their efforts from 2019 to 2020 in supporting the Government's initiatives to get people digitally ready.

ST Engineering was among the donors and sponsors given special recognition for donating $1 million to IMDA's programmes to help needy people go digital.

Others honoured included Ms Winnie Teo, 79, who volunteers at non-profit organisation RSVP Singapore to teach other senior citizens tech skills like using WhatsApp and digital banking.

"I feel very happy guiding seniors in picking up new skills, and I've made many friends as a result," said the retiree.

Kenny Chee

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 31, 2021, with the headline Reading about coding gap spurred her to help pupils. Subscribe