Coding in Turkey

Join us in Istanbul for a 3-month program to improve your coding skills and gain new life experiences!

Goal

This opportunity is for programmers/developers who are looking to immerse themselves in a learning environment and follow an intensive program. The end goal is to graduate people with the necessary technical and universal skills to work in a paid position at a tech company.

Requirements

  • Intermediate level of English
  • Willingness and ability to travel to Turkey from Nov 2021 till Feb 2022
  • Ability to sustain yourself in Turkey for 3 months
  • Flexibility and readiness to share living space with others (of the same gender)
  • Applicants are required to have some background in coding
  • Discipline and commitment to self-learning
  • Availability to spend 6-8 hours a day learning during most weekdays

Expectations

Participants must have some background in coding and are looking to improve their skills to be ready for a job in ~3-4 months. This program follows the “flipped classroom” model and doesn’t have traditional lectures. Participants will be expected to drive their own learning using online modules and supplement their learning through mentorship offered by our community of programmers in Turkey.

Costs

This program is provided as a scholarship and is entirely free of charge (i.e. we do not ask participants to pay us anything). However, participants will be responsible for covering their own travel and living expenses in Turkey, except for housing.

In our experience, a monthly of budget of $130/month is enough to cover food and transportation in Istanbul if carefully budgeted and spent throughout the month, in addition to a one-time residence permit application fee of $60.

What We Offer

Camping and learning on the black sea

Besides providing free housing and membership to the community, we will also match each participant with a mentor that follows their learning journey and ensures they remain on track for a successful completion of the program. All our mentors are experienced software engineers working in the tech industry and have a background in teaching/mentoring others.

Universal/Life Skills

In addition to the supportive community and technical training, we believe the biggest value from our previous programs has been the life skills and the personal and character growth that they experience while living abroad. We teach these universal skills through a variety of workshops and activities. A few examples of the topics we focus on:

  • Growth mindset
  • Critical thinking
  • Communication skills
  • Problem Solving
  • Giving/receiving feedback
  • Gratitude and meditation
  • Overall mental and physical well-being
  • Endurance and facing fears
  • Character development

How to Apply

There are two steps in the application process. Please make sure to complete both steps/forms by the application deadline. You can begin by clicking the “Apply Now” button on this page.

Coding Challenges

Step 2 of the application contains some coding problems that are easy, medium and hard. We understand some of these questions may be difficult for you, and we still ask you to complete as many as you can.

If you don’t know the answer to something, it doesn’t mean you will be automatically disqualified.

We ask these different questions to know your level so we can decide how to best support you. Do your best to answer everything and try to learn new things in solving the problems, but if you can’t, it’s ok! Submit what you have and we will find the best way to help you.

Deadline

The deadline to submit both forms is Oct 29, 2021 at 11:59pm.

Full Scholarships

If you qualify for this program and think this experience can be life changing for you, but you’re unable to afford the cost of traveling and living in Turkey, please still apply and indicate that in the last question of the application. Explain in details why you’re unable to afford this and make a compelling case for how you will utilize this experience for your success.