Since the beginning of October, the Lisbon Project is collaborating with FUSE to provide a coding course for six members of our community. This course teaches refugees and migrants about web development to acquire the necessary skills to become professionals in this area and find their way to more stable and better jobs.
FUSE is a non-profit project, founded by Ana Mulher, with the mission to equip migrants and refugees with tools needed to start a career in programming. We joined together in collaboration to provide 6 LP beneficiaries with a 7-month free coding course, which is called “Coding for Integration”. This project only is possible because of the dedication of the people involved, who willingly and for free share their experience and knowledge. And, thanks to the generous sponsors and donors, the Lisbon Project can assist the students with computers and a classroom to study in.
But what is Coding for Integration?
The “Coding for Integration” course is designed to equip its participants with tools needed in the tech-job-market. It is a 5-months long course, teaching 6 beneficiaries skills needed to build their career in programming. Alongside the other 3 volunteers, FUSE’s frontend engineer, Masoud Soleymani, is responsible for teaching the first modules about frontend. Masoud himself had already been involved with the LP, since he had been helped by the community himself when he first arrived in Portugal.
The modules include teachings about Databases, HTML, Javascript, CSS and GIT as well as React. Towards the end of the course, the students will develop a Final Project using the knowledge they have gained throughout the 5-months. By then, the “Coding for Integration” students should be well-equipped with the skillset opening them tech-job opportunities to establish a foundation for a better life here in Portugal.
This already sounds amazing, right? But it is not even all the “Coding for Integration” course has to offer. Besides the modules, the students will be given the opportunity to interact with people working in the IT-sector. By that, they will be able to build their own network and maybe even meet their future employer. And in addition, the participants will be able to participate in modules focussing on interview preparation to really understand how working in Portugal’s IT-job-market looks like. With a combination of the acquired tech-knowledge, practical interview skills and real-life connections, we are certain that promising job-opportunities will be open to our beneficiaries after completing the course.
What do the mentors think?
Dami Sparks, one of the FUSE team mentors, is excited to start the “Coding for Integration” for the Lisbon Project, to empower the students with the fundamental knowledge needed to be job-ready. Dami believes that they are ready to take on entry-level web-development jobs with the course. He says that it is imperative to “provide a safe space for the students to make mistakes, ask questions and learn”. We are really thankful to the FUSE-coding team for making this possible and helping build a better future for our community!
Are you interested to get involved?
If you are an IT-professional or have any web development experience, you too can teach a module for FUSE! And in case you are not a techie, we are also always looking for people supporting us in other roles! You could volunteer with mentoring, homework-supervision or simply as a motivational supporter.
And if you are interested to get involved with the Lisbon Project, please check our vacancies here!
At the Lisbon Project, we mobilise a team of 100+ volunteers each week to help us pursue our mission! To help build a city that welcomes all, respects all, and empowers all. Our volunteers are from all over the world and their effort are what makes everything we do possible. As a volunteer, your role and time commitment may vary according to your availability and the positions offered, but the value of your contribution will surely be appreciated! If this sounds interesting to you, we are very much looking forward to hearing from you!