Inspiring young people through technology

From Day One, Mindera’s mission has been to give back to the less fortunate. A cornerstone of our charitable efforts across the globe are our tech camps. Launched in Portugal in 2022, they spread to the US and Romania in 2024, and the UK in 2025. Their aim is to give at-risk young people the chance to experience and learn about the latest technology.

In a safe and welcoming environment, we encourage them to explore the world of tech – learning to code, playing with robots and more. We also include physical activities, such as rowing, climbing, and surfing, helping with personal and social growth. Here’s a round-up of our tech camp activity across the summer.

Teaching kids tech and outdoor sports in Porto and beyond

Working closely with the country’s children’s services authority, Mindera Portugal hosted summer camps for young people from local youth homes in its three locations: Porto, Aveiro and Coimbra.

Those invited learned about the latest technology innovations through fascinating hands-on activities. Subjects covered ranged from robotics and AI to vibe coding, Arduino, Scratch and 3D printing. There was also the opportunity to mix fitness with fun by taking part in a range of outdoor pursuits, including surfing, climbing, sailing, canoeing and paddleboarding.

As with all our twice-yearly tech camps in Portugal, the attendees loved the experience so much they wanted to do it again! And it’s always an emotional goodbye for everyone involved. We can’t wait to welcome another group of children and teenagers to our next events in December.

Going football crazy in LA

In the US, July saw students creating fun, engaging soccer-themed video games through our first Game Development Workshop using Unreal Engine. The 8-Week intensive course included students who received scholarships from Angel City Football Club. Running four nights a week, it provided invaluable knowledge and experience for students interested in gaining hands-on game development experience.

Mindera and Angel City scored another goal, supporting our six-week STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in Soccer Camp across July and August. Hosted in the incredible Los Angeles Expo Centre, which we turned into a mini innovation hub, our second annual tech camp was a huge success. Twenty-four young women learned to code, programme Arduino boards, and turn their ideas into working prototypes.

Empowering young adults in Leicester

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the British Isles, in August the Mindera UK Foundation held its latest tech camp in partnership with the UK Government’s Department for Work and Pensions. Led by Mindera experts, the programme covered cybersecurity, generative AI, front-end development, marketing and employability skills, building both confidence and practical expertise.

Its aim? To empower young adults with the skills and support necessary for sustainable tech careers. The 100% positive feedback from the participants signalled mission accomplished!

Inspiring future innovators in Chennai

Over in India during August and September we sponsored a Robotics Camp for young people from a school near our Chennai office. By the end of the first session 32 students had already built their very own robot! In the second session, students learned about accident mitigation sensors, building three different robots that could stop or change direction automatically on detecting humans in their path.

The excitement, curiosity and innovative thinking displayed during the sessions was a clear sign of future engineers, inventors and entrepreneurs in the making! The school principal expressed heartfelt gratitude to Mindera for this inspiring initiative. And 30 more children will get hands-on exposure to robotics and innovation when we sponsor another camp in the final quarter of 2025.

Shaping the future

So, that’s our summer tech camps wrapped! We’ll keep you up to date with more of our education work across the globe, equipping people with new skills, experiences and the confidence to shape a successful future in technology and beyond.

Find out more about the Mindera Foundation and our other social and environmental initiatives.