Learning programming? Get going with Startup Academy, Python IO, Learnemy, and Pragmatic Lab

While Singapore’s developer community have always been informally offering guidance to newbies who are picking up coding, we’re seeing in recent months a new trend towards formalization: Programming courses are being started that are targeted at novices and taught by established developers.

Just today, Jeffrey Paine, co-founder of Golden Gate Ventures, announced that he has launched Startup Academy — a hacker school aimed at startup folks with no development experience.

It is offering three courses as a start: iOS development, Ruby on Rails, and HTML/CSS. The courses will last 4 to 8 weeks, and are priced between SGD 300 (USD 240) to SGD 500 (USD 400). These courses use Action.IO‘s development environment so students won’t need to install additional software.

Others that are involved in this endeavor include Subhransu Behara from SAP, Joyce Huang from Microsoft, Jaryl Sim from Tinkerbox Studios, and Adrian Chua from DevZero Consultancy.

Targeting a slightly different crowd is Python IO, a school started by software engineers Calvin Cheng, Chng Nai Yun and physicist-programmer Ivan Zimine.

Python IO has courses that target both novices and slightly more experienced students. Besides offering fundamental Python lessons, it also has more specialized curriculum that teaches scientists and financial analysts how to use Python in their work.

Prior to starting the school, the team had been conducting several training courses such as LadyPy2011 and Introductory Web Programming Class at Hackerspace.SG.

While not a hacker school per se, Learnemy too has been offering a platform for software developers who are keen to impart their knowledge to others.

It is currently offering a Python course at SGD 190 per person, as well as an one-off iOS development lesson at SGD 50 per person. It also offered a PHP series with software engineer Michael Cheng that is scheduled to begin this month.

Arguably a pioneer in Singapore’s modern web and mobile development space is Pragmatic Lab, a programming school that I covered in 2011. Today, it has expanded its offerings to include iOS, Android, and web development with Ruby on Rails.

While there are many free and less expensive options to learn programming online (check out resources for Ruby and PHP), attending lessons at a physical location does have its advantages.

Students can get immediate feedback from experienced developers or consult with their peers. Also, the fixed schedule and focused learning forces them to be more disciplined and less distracted.

And there’s also the networking component, you never know which of these students might become a co-founder for your startup.

Comments