Engaging a Future Generation of Coders
The EPAM e-kids program aims to impart lifelong skills
By My Nguyen
On a weekend afternoon in July, Askana Siaheyeva shares her personal journey as an IT professional to room full of engaged young faces in Minsk, Belarus.
Formerly a female software engineer, Askana is now a director at EPAM, a global provider of software engineering and IT consulting services. She oversees a division of 400 people, specializing in business analysis and development in .NET.
The young faces belong to students in the inaugural coding class of the company’s EPAM e-kids — a 10-week program open to employees’ children, geared around learning how to code and create projects in Scratch.
Education, specifically STEM education, is one of EPAM’s core thematic corporate social responsibility areas.
With these education initiatives in mind, EPAM — led by business consultant Shamilka Samarasinha — designed and developed the EPAM e-kids program.
The Scratch Foundation recently spoke to Shamilka to learn more about EPAM’s motivation to develop the program, and why the company believes it is not only a priority, but rather a collective responsibility to educate future generations.
Tell us about the EPAM e-kids program.
EPAM e-kids is a 10-week coding curriculum across three levels focused around the Scratch programming language. The future for our children is changing quickly and new and unique skills will be necessary; teaching children to code is the primary focus of the EPAM e-kids program. It is designed for children between eight to 14 years.
This initial program engages our employees’ children. With 10,001+ employees globally, we developed a program to engage the EPAM children where it is possible. To measure results of the program, we surveyed employees in our largest office — based in Minsk, Belarus — and were thrilled to receive a positive response. We had a total of 157 children confirm their interest, and 27 staff members volunteered to support us in conducting the classes. We received increased interest to adopt the same program across seven regional offices in Belarus, as well as our offices in the United States, Ukraine, Russia, and China.
We will run the same program again in September where those who were in Level one and two will be promoted to the above levels accordingly.
What motivated you to develop this program?
We have a very successful University Program which has been in place across the CIS region for many years. We work with 30+ universities and it has been a very dynamic and long running program that has had a very positive impact on the IT sector in the region.
One of the key objectives of the program is to attract girls to technology. We at EPAM understand the need to diversify the sector and therefore we are committed to initiatives that are engaged in bridging the gender gap in the industry globally. We have many female IT professionals on board at EPAM who are now volunteering as mentors in our EPAM e-kids program.
Why did you decide to create a program based around learning how to code, and specifically, Scratch?
Scratch is accessible, user-friendly, and most of it is available in over 40 different languages. Given that we localize our programs to cater to the medium of instruction in each country, this is key to us. Our office in Hungary runs the program in Hungarian, and here in Minsk, we run it in Russian. We hope to do the same in Ukraine. This is one of the most attractive features. It is barrier free and a truly global program, thus meeting all expectations for us to run a unique global program in a smooth, sustainable, and practical way.
How accessible is coding and computer science to young people in Minsk?
The IT sector is very advanced in Belarus. However, like most places in the world, the process starts at later stages in life. Given this, more and more parents seek classes or programs for students at a younger age. The supply can never meet the demand.
Why is learning to code important?
Coding, as Mitchel Resnick very wisely states, is the third language that we as parents, educators, change makers and tech companies should adopt and drive in the communities we can impact. It is the language of the future.
We at EPAM believe in and are committed to this message. We have the expertise to support the wider use of the language, and we are committed to using our wealth of knowledge as a means to develop programs such as EPAM e-kids to prepare the future generation for what would be required of them.
What skills do you think young people gain when they learn how to code?
Learning to code provides skills for life. It provides a solid foundation for problem-solving and critical thinking skills. One of the most crucial life lessons gained from learning how to code is the the cognitive discipline to describe how a process works.
How do the goals of this coding program align with EPAM’s mission?
EPAM e-kids fits into EPAM’s ethos. Education and improving the capacity of educators and learners has been at the heart of EPAM for many years. We believe that this program is a direct extension to our commitment to education.
Using our own skills to impact our future generation positively also defines EPAM as a company. Like our existing university program, we want to make EPAM e-kids accessible to young people, not only within the EPAM family, but in the respective communities where we are located.
Can you share future plans for the EPAM e-kids program?
Our plan is to take EPAM e-kids global. We plan to extend the program from our own EPAM children to the children of our communities. We are already engaging with local schools, clubs, and education centers where we can make coding accessible to children within the broader community.
EPAM is in 20 countries across 51 cities. We would like to use our program to create awareness at a young age. The aim is to take the opportunity to help make STEM education — specifically IT — an exciting subject choice to young girls.
EPAM is dedicated to preparing the future generation and underlining the importance of coding and education around IT. This is only the beginning — and, yes, we are aware we have much work ahead of us — but, we are confident and excited about the challenge to make the difference locally as well as globally.
My Nguyen is Communications Specialist for the Scratch Foundation.
