The below article is published in 15min.
A Lithuanian-founded programmer's academy has opened in The Gambia
Devbridge, a global programming services company headquartered in Chicago, will train young programmers in West Africa for free. The Sourcery Academy for Developers in The Gambia was started by young people who have shown the greatest motivation and passed a test. They now will study according to the unique learning program created by Devbridge programmers in Lithuania.
For a decade, Devbridge has not only been actively contributing to the development of future professional programmers but also preparing professionals from other fields seeking new career challenges. At the company's free Sourcery Academy for Developers, participants have so far been taught the basics of programming in Lithuania only, but from now on, students from West Africa will also be able to take advantage of this opportunity. Devbridge professionals in Lithuania developed and perfected the quality curriculum, which will help not only to prepare young people for the labor market but also to help them broaden their independently acquired theoretical knowledge.
Giving back to the community
According to Viktoras Gurgždis, Vice President of Devbridge and Head of the Lithuanian Division, global trends in the market dictate business investments not only in terms of organizational wellbeing but primarily on assessing what employer value does a successful organization create.
"Today's responsibilities cannot be limited to taking care of the company's well-being. A particularly important social role of the organization is to contribute to the community in which the organization and its employees operate. For ten years in Lithuania, we have been actively investing in the education of children, as well as in students and adults who want to change their profession."
- Viktoras Gurgždis, Vice President of Devbridge
The Sourcery initiative in The Gambia aims to contribute to the dream of Raymond King, a long-time Devbridge worker who was born and raised in Africa, to provide a free programming foundation for all motivated local students. We aim not only to promote the importance of social responsibility but also to help implement change and improve the image of our country's technology sector in the world by means of meaningful activities."
Aiming to make the dream come true
According to Raymond King, Devbridge's head of global sales, the Sourcery Academy in The Gambia is an intensive programming training camp for IT students looking to take their first steps in technology.
"With just over five years of experience at Devbridge, I have very clearly seen the importance of creating a development environment and creating the right conditions and opportunities for young professionals to grow. I am very grateful to be able to present our organization’s best practices and methodologies to young Gambian programmers. Together with local partners, we hope to introduce the most advanced practices and tools on the market, and thus help young West African programmers to develop."
- Raymond King, Head of Global Sales at Devbridge.
More than 130 participants in The Gambia sought admission to the academy, but only 40 students were invited for further selection. Success smiled upon 10 motivated students who began a free 12-week cycle of basic lectures at the Sourcery Academy for Developers last week.
Sourcery Academy for Developers is a training program for anyone who wants to develop their programming competencies and integrate more quickly into the technology job market. In The Gambia, the program lectures and analysis of real projects will focus on problem-solving. Thus, the program participants will not only learn to work in a team but also solve problems when developing digital products.
More information about Sourcery Academies can be found HERE.