When was CoderDojo Oradea founded?

CoderDojo Oradea was founded in January 2014 as the 4th CoderDojo chapter in Romania. The space robotics program (CDOSR) was started in 2018 when the team first registered for ESA AstroPi and the Exo-RO rover championship.

CDOSR was inspired during EU Code Week 2018 at the European Parliament, where CoderDojo Oradea joined teams from 5 other countries. The team registered for Exo-RO 2018 and won the national championship with their first remote-controlled rover, launching the space robotics program.

How many children has CoderDojo Oradea trained?

Since 2014, CoderDojo Oradea has trained over 500 children in coding and robotics through free weekly sessions. All mentors are volunteers and all programs are completely free.

Our Story - CDOSR

CoderDojo Oradea was founded on January 18, 2014 as the 4th CoderDojo chapter in Romania. What started as a programming club for children quickly grew into something much bigger.

Starting at Cetatea Oradea (the historic Oradea Fortress) and now operating from Fundatia Comunitara Oradea (Str. Republicii nr. 30), our volunteer mentors teach coding to children ages 7-17 every Saturday, completely free of charge. Over 500 children have attended our courses across four tracks: Scratch, Web Technologies, Python, and Robotics.

In parallel, our competitive arm — CDOSR (CoderDojo Oradea Space Robotics) — brings together high school students from across Oradea to tackle national and European space competitions.

Our Journey

January 2014

CoderDojo Oradea Founded

4th CoderDojo chapter in Romania. First coding sessions at Cetatea Oradea.

2018

First Exo-RO National Championship

CDOSR wins the National Space Rover Championship organized by ROSA/ESERO Romania.

2019

CanSat National Champions & ESA European Finals

Won the 5th Romanian National CanSat Competition. Represented Romania at the European CanSat Finals in Bologna, Italy.

2021

Double Champions

Won both the CanSat national competition (2nd time) and the Exo-RO rover championship (2nd time). Qualified for ESA European CanSat Competition.

2022

PocketQube Nanosatellite

Teamed up with Modus Vivendi as "Space Robotics Alliance" to build a 5cm nanosatellite for the first National PocketQube Competition.

2018-2023

AstroPi — Code on the ISS

5 years as ESA AstroPi finalists (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023), running experiments on the International Space Station. Elisa E. won Highly Commended twice (2021, 2023) with her high school team.

2020

Highest Technical Achievement — CanSat

Won the Highest Technical Achievement award at the Romanian National CanSat Competition.

2022

Highest Technical Achievement — CanSat

Won the Highest Technical Achievement award at the Romanian National CanSat Competition for the second time.

2024

Triple Achievement Year

Best CanSat at Romanian Nationals (3rd national title). 2nd overall + Highest Technical Achievement at RCRC (Romanian CanSat and Rocketry Championship). 2nd place at Qube2Space with a 5cm nanosatellite.

2024-2025

ROSPIN School

Teams coordinated by mentor Daniel qualified twice in the top 5 for Phase II of ROSPIN School Earth observation competitions.

Quick Facts

Type: NGO (non-profit)
Founded: January 18, 2014
Location: Oradea, Romania
Venue: Fundatia Comunitara Oradea
Schedule: Every Saturday
Cost: Free
Ages: 7-17
Mentors: All volunteers

Key Achievements

3x CanSat National Champions
2x Exo-RO Rover Champions
3x Highest Technical Achievement
2x ESA European Finals
5 years AstroPi finalists
Qube2Space 2nd place
500+ children trained