‘Learn IT, Girl!’ Project. Women in IT!

There are many different non-profit international IT projects, where women can learn how to program in various programming languages such as JavaScrip, Java, Ruby and many more. About two years ago, I was encouraged to make a very first and simple web page by using CSS, HTML5 and WordPress. I wasn’t sure if I could handle it, but with other people’s help i was able to finish it! Then, I started my further journey in IT. For over a year I’ve been working as a front-end developer. I’ve learnt how to build responsive and functional web applications and I found it very entertaining. It actually became my passion.

What is ‘Learn IT, girl’?

Last year (in 2014) i found out about ‘Learn IT, girl’, global mentorship project. It invites women all over the world to learn programming. They need to choose programming language in which they want to start their first IT path. Every single girl has her own mentor, a person who will help to solve issues and who will lead to finish the app she decided to create. It can be simple or more complex application; it depends on your skills. The project lasted for about 10 weeks, from November 2014 to February 2015. Mentors and scholars were paired depending on their chosen programming languages or mentor’s skills. Organizers also took into account the timezone.

My participation

I was one of over a hundred women who took part in the first edition of the project. I choose Backbone js, which is a JavaScrip framework. I made a simple cookbook application, where we can add, edit or delete recipes, also add them to a favourite list. It was the first time that i created an application in this framework, that’s why I had to start from the very beginning. The code is very simple, and understandable. To simplify my work, I used two well-known Backbone plugins, backbone validation and local.storage, which I also introduced in my previous blog post, which can be found here. If You would like to know more about the app, You can find it on my GitHub.

My mentor, Alexandra, who is from Romania, is a CTO in Appticles. She has a very wide experience with programming. Even when I lost myself and went down with the project, she motivated me to not to give up. She guided me through all the issues and explained things that i could not face alone. I really appreciated her help and knowledge.

Second edition

This year, there is going to be the second edition of the ‘Learn IT, girl’ project. I definitely recommend to take part in the program. First of all, You can learn new programming languages You have never used. Its completely non-profit, so why don’t You find some time and code with Your mentor without any kind of paid promotion? You can extend your knowledge and find some new things. You don’t need to have any experience with a new language. What’s more, You can learn how to cooperate with other people. In the end of the project, every scholar will gain a diploma, which informs that she finished the course. If You would like to apply, just follow ‘Learn IT, girl’. Every updates can also be found on ‘Learn IT, girl’ blog or their Facebook fan page.