Students share what they’ve learned during the nine-week Dev/Iowa Bootcamp at demo day Wednesday.
Science fair-style demonstrations were set up in the University of Iowa’s Thinc Lab Wednesday to showcase students’ new programming skills. The demo day marked the last week of the intensive nine-week Dev/Iowa Bootcamp that taught students programming languages like HTML/CSS, JavaScript and Node.js.
Dev/Iowa was implemented by the University of Iowa this year as a way to meet the growing demand for employees competent in coding and web development.
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“I know when I leave here and run into a coding problem I can just figure it out on my own,” said Brant Kapple, one of the 11 Dev/Iowa students. “I feel very prepared.”
The nine-week Bootcamp was a full-time engagement that gave students a lot of hands-on experience through work with mentors and local businesses in need of web developers. Working with these companies gave students the chance to test their growing abilities on real-world applications and write code outside the classroom.
Thomas Hansen, the lead Dev/Iowa instructor, says he was very impressed with the students’ work projects given the client projects had recently ended, leaving a short time for final project work.
“I think they are really cool projects,” he said. “I was really surprised how much got done in two weeks.”
After the first half hour of networking with businesses and startup representatives from the community, everyone filed into seats for the presentations. Each student proudly displayed what they’d learned as the projector revealed new websites and apps, from games and music to professional portfolio development.
Want to learn to code with the next Dev/Iowa class?
Taking nine weeks to learn programming skills definitely has its benefits, but unfortunately, not everyone has the time to make such a large time commitment. To expand the benefits of the Dev/Iowa Bootcamp, the University will be offering one-week and weekend courses starting in September. Those interested in learning a specific programming language or brushing up on coding knowledge can attend the classes that best apply to them.
These courses also are ideal for business employees because it’s an opportunity to train staff in specific web development languages like HTML or JavaScript. Improving work skills is why one Dev/Iowa student decided to attend the summer bootcamp.
“I’ve worked a lot with the front-end of websites adding content, but I really wanted to learn the bones and inner workings of a site,” said Denisse Rauda, digital editor for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids.
If you’re interested in learning what courses Dev/Iowa has to offer, visit the Dev/Iowa website or contact Andrea Flemming.
