Inspirational Young Coders
Coding Prodigies Making Waves Around the World
When you imagine leading computer programmers, you’re probably not picturing a squad of kids. But as technology continues to advance, so does the demand for STEM superstars of all ages. Here are six young coding leaders proving that age is just a number when it comes to revolutionizing the tech industry.
Muhammad Hamza Shahzad
In 2016, Muhammad Hamza Shahzad, a British-Pakistani boy growing up in Birmingham, UK became the youngest qualified computer programmer in the world at the age of seven. When he was only 6 years old, he took the famously difficult Microsoft exam and passed with flying colors, earning him a highly sought-after certification from Microsoft. Technically, with this certificate, Muhammad could leave elementary school now and land a high-paying job in IT! Muhammad, who received his first computer at the age of 2 and a half, has been largely tutored by his father, who is a tech-whiz at the American IT company Cyber Royal. These days, Muhammad is working on developing a game that can be won in less than 30 clicks.
Arham Om Talsania
Four years after Muhammad Hamza Shahzad set the record, Arham Om Talsania broke it, becoming the current Guinness World Record holder for the youngest computer programmer in the world. Arham cracked the Python programming language exam, an exam considered difficult even by aspiring adult engineers, in January of 2020. He is currently busily producing 2D, 3D, and text-based versions of his own video game and aspires to design robots that can help people in need.
Tanmay Bakshi
Canadian coder Tanmay is not only a software developer, but a TEDx speaker, YouTuber, author, and the world’s youngest IBM Watson developer. Tanmay began to learn programming at the age of 5; by age eight, he had designed his first app, and by age nine, he had built a now-popular iPhone app called “tTables” that helps kids learn multiplication tables. At age 12, Tanmay became the youngest IBM Watson developer in the world. Tanmay also devotes himself to spreading knowledge by authoring multiple books — including Hello Swift!, an iOS programming guide for kids — and by uploading videos to his YouTube channel Tanmay Teaches. In his free time, Tanmay is working on a project with IBM to help a quadriplegic woman learn how to communicate through the power of artificial intelligence.
Isabel Sieh
Filipino-American teenager Isabel Sieh learned how to code through Code Academy at the age of ten. When Isabel moved from New York to the Philippines, her individual passion for coding blossomed into community-centered education & activism; she founded Girls Will Code, an organization that encourages girls to participate in activities related to coding, programming, robotics and engineering. Through her effort, Isabel is working to ensure that kids — and young girls especially — have the opportunity to learn the basics of coding, jump-starting their coding journeys.
Samaira Mehta
When Samaira was seven, this Californian coder created a board game called CoderBunnyz, which aims to teach players the basics of computer programming. The game, which sold hundreds of copies in its first years, caught the attention of big tech firms and led Samaira to found her own company at age nine. Samaira followed CoderBunnyz up with another game called CoderMindz that teaches basic AI concepts using JavaScript. Her coding and business ventures have brought Samaira to companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google, as well as schools and libraries, where she holds workshops for employers and their kids about how to engage young people in coding.
Basil Okpara, Jr.
Basil Okpara, Jr. is the 11-year old Nigerian tech wunderkind whose original gaming creations have been taking the Google Play Store by storm. By the age of 9, Basil had built over 30 mobile games out of sheer interest using Scratch — the same block-based visual programming language we teach in our beginner classes at The Coding Space. Basil has been featured on CNN International, Kidpreneur Africa Ambassador, Reuters News Agency and many other outlets. His most popular game, Mosquito Mash, is designed to raise awareness of the various diseases caused by mosquitos.
At TCS, we believe that many of the world’s biggest challenges will be solved in the future with a few lines of elegant code, and these amazing young coders give us hope for the future of tech! If your kids want to jump into the world of coding, or if you’d like to prep them with useful skills for our increasingly technology-dependent world, take a look at our multitude of summer coding offerings.