Sweden has partnered with Swedish-Ukrainian non-profit Beetroot Academy to spread information technology schools across Ukraine, according to the Embassy of Sweden in Kyiv.
The agreement foresees a three-year program to foster Beetroot Academy to double their current number of IT schools to a total of 20 locations across the country, which will “help the development of highly relevant and much-needed skills” in Ukraine, the statement reads.
For this purpose, the Swedish government is willing to give the academy 15 million Swedish Krona, or more than $1.7 million.
Sweden’s support will allow to open IT schools in places where otherwise it’s unprofitable to run them, according to Maria Lypiatska, the embassy’s spokesperson.
It includes towns and cities with a population greater than 200,000 people in eastern Ukraine.
“(IT) is a promising industry, working in which people can earn good salaries and thus increase their standards of living,” Lypiatska told the Kyiv Post, explaining why Sweden is interested in supporting particularly tech education.
“This way, we support the concept of inclusive economic development in Ukraine, when everybody is equal to earn decent money through good education regardless the size of a city they live in and their social status,” she said.
Founded in 2014 by two Swedes – Gustav Henman and Andreas Flodström – Beetroot Academy is a non-profit spin-off of the Beetroot tech company.
Beetroot employees represent their company at Upwork Regional Freelance Summit held in January in Kyiv.
Beetroot’s co-founder Flodström is excited his company can expand its social impact in Ukraine. The academy plans to teach 2,000 students per year.
“The agreement is a boost to the Ukrainian IT market in general, and that is a good thing,” Flodström told the Kyiv Post. “It enables more people to come into IT and work with international clients all over the world.
The partnership also helps bring more international awareness to a Ukraine that is buzzing with activity right now.”
The first schools will most likely accept students in three months, but according to Flodström, it always depends on finding good teachers “interested in building the tech community in their city.” They are the core of any new academy, he said.
Currently the academy works in 10 cities – from eastern Mariupol to western Ivano-Frankivsk, and even in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, just 80 kilometers from the war zone. It teaches Ukrainians programming languages such as JavaScript and PHP, and other skills such as creating websites with WordPress, and even learning English.
Beetroot Academy uses “flipped classroom methodology,” in which “lectures” are attended at home, and “homework” is done in class – students typically watch short video lectures before a lesson and then engage in practical work while in class.
Students and teachers usually bring their own laptops.
About 70 percent of the students can easily find a job after learning at the academy and many end up as Beetroot employees.
Despite being a non-profit, the academy charges $150 to $200 a month, depending on the course. But the firm charges just enough to cover its costs and to pay teachers, Flodström says.
“We work with existing, local IT partners and other forces of society who, just as we do, want to see positive change,” Flodström said.
The Kyiv Post’s technology coverage is sponsored by Ciklum and NIX Solutions. The content is independent of the donors.
