More than 35 students from American School of The Hague and Dutch Primary School KC Diamant, recently came together for a workshops series Code, Create, Collaborate; a partnership between Microsoft Dream Space and Dé Codeerschool designed to inspire the next generation of innovators.

 

Microsoft Dream Space is Microsoft’s free educational program designed to empower young people with the digital skills, confidence, and mindset needed to thrive in a digital-driven world. Through hands-on, challenge-based experiences, students explore technologies such as artificial intelligence, coding, and robotics while using their creativity to solve real-world challenges.

 

Across three sessions guided by Digital Literacy teacher at dé Codeerschool Dara Tabrizian, the workshop series built steadily from first principles to a full robotics challenge. Students began by exploring how AI learns from data, then moved on to coding with the micro:bit, a pocket-sized programmable computer, using sensors and logic to bring their ideas to life. Each session layered on new skills, building toward a final challenge that would put everything they had learned to the test.

 

That final session, hosted at ASH, took the form of a robotics hackathon. Working against the clock and using the UN Sustainable Development Goals as their guide, teams designed, built, and programmed their own delivery robots, micro:bit-powered Cutebots, teaching them to drive, follow a line, detect obstacles, and celebrate each successful delivery with light and sound. Students tested, refined, and improved their designs through multiple iterations, applying the same engineering mindset used by professionals in the technology industry.

"What made this program special for me was seeing digital literacy truly come to life,” says Yves Deen, founder of Dé Codeerschool. Students from two different schools came together, explored new technologies, shared ideas, and created something as one team. It was great to see how quickly they connected with each other and how technology became a way to collaborate, be creative, and learn together."

 

Some teams programmed robots to navigate obstacle courses independently, while others explored gesture-based controls and intelligent responses using AI models they had previously trained. Throughout the day, students demonstrated creativity, resilience, and teamwork as they transformed their ideas into working solutions.

 

“What stayed with me wasn't the robots or the code. It was watching students who had never met before become a team within a few hours,” says Maud Pols, Dream Space Netherlands Lead. “The program brought them together, but curiosity, creativity and collaboration were what made the experience memorable." The event concluded with presentations to a panel of judges that included representatives from ASH, Microsoft DreamSpace, and the American Chamber of Commerce. There was much to celebrate from this collaboration. “Thank you to Microsoft, the Codeerschool, and the entire team for this outstanding opportunity for our students,” says ASH Director Dr. Courtney Lowe. “It is a wonderful example of the win-win partnerships that can be created when schools and the business community collaborate in support of young people and their futures.”

 

Beyond the impressive technical achievements, the partnerships that developed among the students themselves were highly celebrated. What began as shy introductions between students from different schools quickly evolved into teamwork, with participants exchanging highfives, testing ideas, and sharing plenty of laughter along the way. The showcase was a great reminder that innovation thrives not only through technology, but through curiosity, co-creation and fun.