An Uzbek man spoke about his studies at “School 21” in Kazan

During the stay in the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, the city of Kazan, the IT Park delegation visited the programming school – “School 21”.

Now we are not talking about a general education or private school for children, but about a programming learning center. In short, “School 21” is a free programming school where you can master a wide range of IT professions: Java, Go developer, Python, Ruby web application developer, etc., mobile application developer, DevOps specialist, specialist in the field of robotics, a specialist in the field of data analysis, a specialist in the field of cybersecurity, a developer of computer games and AR/VR applications.

“School 21” is a franchise of the world famous French project “Ecole 42”, which was acquired and opened by Sberbank to train highly qualified IT specialists.

The most important principle of the system is to help students self-study and work under tight deadlines so that students learn to take responsibility for themselves and the results that future employers expect from them.

On September 23, 2021, a representative of “School 21”, Yulia Vershinina, conducted an excursion for the IT Park delegation and told in detail about the school, introduced the training program and training methods for IT specialists.

It was a very fruitful meeting for IT Park, which helped to get to know the inner “cousine” of the new education system and excellent experience in the field of training IT specialists.

Moreover, the IT Park delegation managed to meet and communicate with a student from Uzbekistan who currently lives in Kazan and studies at “School 21”:

- Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and what did you do before?

My name is Sardor, to be full - Tukhtakhodjaev Sardorkhuzha. 20 years old, from Tashkent. Since 2017 I have been developing for production. In 2019 entered one of the Kazan universities, as a result of which I moved to Kazan, where he got acquainted with “School 21”.

- When and why did you decide to study programming in that time?

I played computer games in my childhood. I didn’t have a wired internet yet, so I started surfing my computer. At that moment I realized that it was interesting to me. At the age of 12, I made the first website on a constructor, and at about 15 I went to courses at the branch of Moscow State University in Tashkent. At the age of 16, I realized that the main thing is self-study and began to study by myself. And that’s how it all began.

This is very interesting to me, I can write code for days, and I believe that this is the main thing for everyone who wants to achieve success in the future.

- You mentioned that you are currently getting higher education. What are your impressions?

Now I am studying applied computer science in robotics at the university. I believe that the university program is not keeping pace with the development of IT. Universities, due to the existence of standards, are forced to add disciplines that will never be useful to developers.

Too much theory, too little practice in core subjects. And again: too many unnecessary items. This applies not only to my university, but also to almost all others that have departments of information technology. Universities should look towards the education system adopted by “Ecole 42” and “School 21” in particular.

- Isn’t it difficult to study at the university and at “School 21” at the same time?

I combined study at the university, study at “School 21”, work at the university and work in a private company. Therefore, I think that combining only 2 things is not so difficult. I quit my job at the university, so now I combine 3 directions.

- Why did you decide to study at “School 21”? What exactly did you like about the education system? And how is your training going?

After seeing the ads on Instagram, I decided to just try going to the “pool”. The pool is a month-long exam. It was one of the most difficult tests in my life, because it was necessary literally all the time that you were awake, thinking about algorithms.

I passed the selection and started basic training in October 2020. I like almost everything in the School: a working and comfortable atmosphere, a very cool attitude of the School staff towards students - they are always smiling and ready to help, a modern building equipped with modern equipment.

And the main thing is the education system. No teachers, no lectures, no study schedule. Everything is built on self-study and communication between students. You are given a clear task, and until you complete it and understand thoroughly, you will not pass it. You can cheat, but it is almost always revealed.

In addition, the campus is open 24/7, both on weekends and on holidays. I heard that many guys celebrated the new year on campus. This is very cool because there are people like me who like to work at night. Sometimes I come in the evening and leave in the morning.

I also like the fact that the school has gamification, a competitive spirit, provided by division into coalitions, so to speak, clubs - language, robotics, music and other hobbies, and the organization of competitions between them. And also there is a library with free access to books, without a librarian.

For many programmers who are not yet employed, it is a big plus that “School 21” helps with finding internships. Internships are offered in the largest companies of the republic and the country as a whole.

All this creates conditions in which you want to come and want to study. We students really love the school for what it is.

- If there are no teachers, lectures, textbooks. Where do you get the information to study from?

It’s simple, on Google. There are video tutorials in the system, but there are few of them, and they are rather superficial. Again, everything is built on self-study. In addition, students themselves record lectures on projects and upload them. I also recorded one.

- What level of knowledge is required to enter “School 21”?

You need to be able to turn on the computer and nothing more. The program is designed so that people with zero knowledge and people with experience in development feel in the same conditions, both during the selection period and during schooling.

- Have you already completed an internship?

I already worked before the start of basic training, so no. At the moment I work in a private IT company in Kazan and am very pleased with the place of work and the team.

- What are your future plans after completing your studies?

I can’t answer this question yet, but I can say one thing, I definitely plan to continue to grow and develop in IT in order to become one of the best specialists in my field.

Sardor is one of those examples to follow when a person, not expect help and support, goes forward by himself and not afraid to develop and work on himself. Although now he is still at the beginning of his path, he has already managed to achieve a lot, and we are sure that this is only the beginning. In the meantime, I would like to wish him good luck on his way and remind our readers that only hard work on yourself and an inexhaustible desire to achieve more will help you become who you want. The main thing is not to stop and do not give up in front of difficulties. Now there are so many courses, both online and offline, paid and free, that will allow you to become a good IT specialist.