Coding boot camp in Seychelles takes students on deep dive into website development

The programme is being delivered by international coding tutors from Fire Tech in conjunction with Seychelles’ National Institute for Science, Technology and Innovation. (Salifa Karapetyan)

(Seychelles News Agency) - A group of Seychellois secondary school students is participating in an immersive introduction to coding and programming taking place during the holiday break at Beau Vallon secondary school.

The Coding Boot Camp from September 2 to 6 is being organised by Round Table Seychelles in partnership with Absa Group Limited – currently operating in the country as Barclays Bank Seychelles - and the Seychelles Breweries Limited.

The project’s coordinator, Jessica D’unienville, said the programme is an investment for the students' future.

“It is true that at school they are being introduced to this subject but it is not to this level, hence we are giving them some extra baggage. Since we know that we are already living in a technological world, we want to impart our students with these technological skills,” said D’unienville.

The 24 students are learning web development and Python - a language in the backend of web development – as well as using Java Scripts for simple computer games.

“They are learning the front end of what we see on a website as well as the backend of how to set up a computer program and web development. It's basic training as this is our first programme but we are hoping that with the basic training, they will be able to add on to this on their own. These are skills that we would like to equip as many youths as possible with,” said D’unienville.

The programme is being delivered by international coding tutors from Fire Tech in conjunction with Seychelles’ National Institute for Science, Technology and Innovation (NISTI).

Fire Tech is a UK-based company specialising in technology-focused camps for young people and is a leading provider of short, project-led tech learning workshops and camps. Launched in 2013, Fire Tech has delivered over 12,000 learning experiences. Its goal is to motivate and instil confidence in young people to create, rather than consume, technology.

“Round Table Seychelles has supported numerous projects and charitable causes throughout its 46 years of existence and we believe strongly in the development of the youth to take on challenges of the future with technology is growing ever more important in our daily lives,” said Allain L’Etourdie, the president of Round Table Seychelles.

The programme taking in Seychelles cost nearly $245 per student. Funds were raised during the first Afrobeat Music Festival held in the island nation on May 25.

Organised to celebrate Africa Day, the festival showcased African rhythm, influences and culture through a number of performances from Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean. The highlight of the festival was the performance of chart-topping British-Ghanaian artist, Fuse ODG.

The Coding Boot Camp is the first of a series of programmes aimed at empowering the youth through community skills development projects aimed to fuel tomorrow’s innovators.

Speaking to SNA, Amanda Bernstein, the head of marketing and corporate relations at Absa Group Limited in Seychelles, said the reason that Barclays Bank Seychelles is supporting the event is because of the cause.

“As a bank, we feel that the future is digital, that the next great breakthroughs, innovations are all going to be digital and that is where the next frontier is,” said Bernstein.