The certificate award ceremony for participants of the first generation of BIT Camp was organized on Friday May 8th, 2015 at the International University of Sarajevo, exactly six months after the beginning of the intensive training program. In front of future employers, donors, parents, and friends, the students said their final goodbyes to BIT Camp. The students highlighted that this was a unique and emotional experience because in an effort to overcome the study material and maintain the optimal pace of learning expected from them, they provided support for one another, and built unbreakable friendships.
At the ceremony, attendees were addressed by Damir Ibrišimović, President of BIT Alliance, who emphasized what makes the BIT Camp different from the standard educational system:
“We were looking for highly motivated and hardworking people willing to sacrifice themselves for knowledge. We recognized those who have the potential to solve logical problems among them. We have chosen the best among us, and we are able to transfer knowledge to them and create processes to support the development of this knowledge. We do not force students to learn; they seek knowledge by themselves. We do not give grades to them, because they did not come to get them.”
Attendees were also addressed by representatives of donors: Ian Brown, Director of the Representative Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Alex Paine, Senior Manager for the Program for Support to Small Businesses EBRD London; and Andrew Wilson, Project Manager for Project MarketMakers, which is supported by the Swiss government. They expressed their satisfaction with the support provided to BIT Camp and first-generation students, and wished them good luck on their new jobs.
In the summer of 2014, six leading software development companies (AtlantBH, Authority Partners, DevLogic, Green River Media, PING and ZIRA) established the BIT Alliance, which developed an intensive six-month training program for software developers called “BIT Camp” due to the growing demand for qualified personnel in the industry.
Source: ST
