My Virtual Academy experience: Gdansk

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Hi, I'm Aleksandra, and I studied Software Engineering and Econometrics in college. I joined Kainos as a Software Engineering student in the Academy after completing my college degree! Given the ongoing COVID-19 situation, this year's academy was entirely virtual, and a after 1.5 years of remote university, I was pretty familiar with the concept of online learning. From the waking up 5 minutes before classes, troubles with Microsoft Teams, and broken connections, if it could happen, it did! But in spite of this, I wanted to share my experience during the Kainos virtual academy and show that it can be just as fun as the in-person experience.

One of the most important parts of the academy is development of new technical skills! Each week, we were given a new subject to cover and almost each week ended with a task and a presentation. For the first three weeks, I opened my laptop and watched the (best) instructor, Jeremy, presenting and explaining fundamentals of Software Engineering! As someone who is not a native English speaker, I was also testing my language skills by listening to the presentations in English every day. The Academy was a lot of fun, but there was a lot of information to cover: Databases, Java and Web, Testing, Cybersecurity, AI, Platform Engineering, Engineering Principles- all in seven weeks. I also found it useful that we got to familiarise ourselves with business etiquette, presenting, and Scrum.  

After learning our skills in lectures, we put them to the test with some tasks. To solve them we worked in smaller groups with an experienced Software Engineer mentoring us, they were always there to help and dispel our doubts. This also gave us a brilliant opportunity to ask questions on a more individual level! 

The last three weeks were a real test of all the skills gained throughout the Academy- with an assignment to build a fully functional app! We all love a good challenge. 

While there may be some misconceptions that it's harder to make friends and socialise through virtual learning, we had plenty of opportunities to have fun with the rest of our classmates. Among Us, Kahoot, Rocket League- you name it. We also got to participate in a virtual escape room! 

Another benefit of the virtual Academy was getting the opportunity to meet people from Belfast, Gdansk, Birmingham, and London, and there's always time to talk, share your experiences, ask about troubles with technical aspects etc. 

At the end of Academy, we were informed about our future in Kainos, learning about the project we would be assigned to! We had time to reflect on the rewarding experience of those 7 weeks of hard work, and of course some time to celebrate before the project work started.

Just after the Academy, I joined a small team based mostly in Gdansk. During my time on the project, I used a lot of knowledge I gained during the Academy experience. I was initially assigned to a small task within the project, but soon wanted get involved in more advanced tasks, and wanted to use the opportunity to expand my learning beyond just technical skills. I also learned how to speak with clients during daily standups and other situations, which is something you can pick up with practical experience. We also got the chance to partner up with a buddy, a more experienced Software Engineer from your project, to assist you in your onboarding into the project. My buddy and my entire project team were there to guide me through any questions I had, and their support meant that we could all succeed together!

The Kainos Academy offers a superb range of opportunities for graduates or students who want to gain a comprehensive first experience in IT, no matter their background. The Academy was a great experience for me, and I think it was the best start in this industry that I could imagine.