Webb Fontaine’s Sourcemind offers free IT education for youngsters

Sourcemind, an innovative new training hub in Armenia sponsored by Webb Fontaine, offers educational programs to students and youngsters interested in the global tech sector.

Admission to the new training centre is free. Students must be at least 18 years old and be motivated to succeed.

In June 2021, Sourcemind launched its initial Back-End Software Engineering Pathway programme. The curriculum provides a solid software engineering foundation with the goal of equipping students with the knowledge, advanced skills and practical experience they needed to succeed and attract the attention of major companies.

During the first three months, participants learned the foundations of software engineering and gained practical experience through real-life projects. The programme also included face-to-face lectures, assignments and projects, peer-learning, collaboration and industry-relevant curriculum plus meetups and lectures from guest speakers. After successfully completing this stage, participants go on to deepen their knowledge in Back-End Software Engineering.

Karine Vardazaryan, head of the Sourcemind program, said: “Our goal is to make quality education more accessible by removing barriers such as finances and complex admission requirements. The first intake proved to be successful with five students hired by Webb Fontaine and other IT companies after completing just the foundation programme. This gives us the motivation and determination to ensure we provide high-quality opportunities that will create job-ready applicants. We are going to enlarge the scope of the specialization programmes to involve more students.”

The next Sourcemind programme will launch in October 2021 and will train future AI/ML specialists. Potential Sourcemind students must complete an application form and successfully pass tests that differ for each area of specialization. These tests check logical reasoning and math skills. The last stage is the interview where staff not only validate a participant’s knowledge but also their commitment and readiness to allocate the necessary time to their studies.

Ara Shamirzayan, Director of IT and Development at Webb Fontaine, said: “We are all aware of the critical need to make improvements and changes to the education and science sectors to meet the rapidly growing demand for talent.

photo © Webb Fontaine

“This initiative is a way to solve this problem and contribute to society as part of Webb Fontaine’s corporate social responsibility commitments. Our success is due to the talent we have hired, including from Armenia, so now it is our turn to give back to the community and invest in the people who are going to lead the future of technology.

“This initiative will result in qualified professionals who are ready to be hired by IT companies and who possess the hard and soft skills necessary to succeed. We aim to provide a platform for senior and junior specialists to collaborate and learn from each other while promoting a culture of peer learning and teaching to create a healthy environment for companies and specialists to cooperate,” Shamirzanyan said.

Sourcemind instructors come from diverse backgrounds, with a range of skills and experiences acquired at leading companies. This allows Sourcemind students to gain a greater perspective of what the industry is like before finding a role that suits them. As well as offering training, Sourcemind operates as a platform to network, innovate and challenge ideas.