A code camp is, traditionally, an intense training program where participants learn computer programming skills over a short period of time with a focus on a specific type of work. For example, Code Camp Leipzig is a 3-month, full-time course training participants in full stack web development skills.
Code Camp Leipzig is designed to help people gain technical skills that will allow them to successfully take on junior level development jobs, become tech literate for hybrid business and management roles, and become self-driven learners of programming. We do this through our curriculum design, relationships with companies, and our community approach to the classroom experience.
Code Camp Leipzig provides a different learning experience from other coding education platforms because we are a short-term, company-driven and community-engaged, modern, in-person learning experience.
Online learning provides the highest degree of accessibility to knowledge, being generally cheaper and more abundant in content than any form of in-person learning. However, drop-out rates for online courses are extremely high (over 80%) for the average course. Learning alone, online is simply not an optimal learning path for most people.
Universities, vocational training, and work-study programs provide a larger community and a degree of access to expert knowledge, as well as a certified degree that often bears social recognition. The downside is that these programs tend to lag behind on teaching to the latest standards, both pedagogically and in terms of the curriculum. Their students learn skills, often at great personal cost, that are at best only partially satisfy the requirements many employers have.
Additionally, these programs tend to take years to complete and can be inaccessible for those who are looking to jump into a productive tech career more quickly or those who are older and already have life-style requirements, experience in other fields, and higher standards for their work environments.
Click the prominent “APPLY NOW” button on the top right in the navigation bar above to go to our application. This form is the first of 4 or 5 steps in the process, depending on your application type.
The Spring 2020 camp will begin March 16th. The Fall 2020 camp will begin September 7th.
Code Camp Leipzig accepts applications on a continuous basis. We then set cutoff dates for acceptance into a particular program, after which applications are rolled over and considered for the next program.
The deadline for being considered for entry into the Spring camp of 2020 is January 6th. If you are eventually accepted to the 3rd phase of the application process, you will receive a notification to schedule a phone interview by January 9th.
The 4th phase of the application is a Profile Day where candidates engage in activities with one another as well as our instructors. This day helps us understand you better as people and as team members; some company representatives may also be in attendance. Our partner companies will then receive a profile shortly afterward based on your entire application plus the feedback from Profile Day.
Companies will reach out to their favorite candidates for individual interviews at their offices to be considered for sponsorships and work contracts. The final decision for all candidates for the Spring camp will be made on February 17th. This will give students who accept their invitations four weeks to prepare their living and financial situations for the duration of the camp.
We accept people from all walks of life and all levels of experience! There are no hard technical or mathematics requirements for acceptance into a Code Camp Leipzig program.
However, it will be generally expected that you have a firm grasp of high school mathematics. If you are accepted into a program and are feeling a little rusty mathematically, no worries! You will be given resources in the weeks leading up to the start of that program to review your fundamental math skills.
Our ideal candidate is someone who enjoys solving problems, is open to other lifestyles and personality types, has some appetite for novelty and new ideas, cares about something beyond their immediate environment and is intentional about their vision, and has some awareness of who they are as a person and why they do what they do.
These values are what we believe makes a great learning environment for both students and instructors. Because we see classrooms as teams that support one another throughout the camp, selecting for these values is a core element of our process.
Living in Germany is not a direct requirement for applying. However, you will be expected to live in Leipzig for the duration of the course. If you are not a German citizen or not already living in Germany, you should carefully consider your options for legal entry into the country. Some possibilities include citizenship in an EU member state, a Schengen visa from another EU country, and application for a work-holiday program if eligible.
If you are uncertain about how you can enter Germany legally, it is unlikely we will be able to help you.
The entire application can be done remotely except for the Profile Day event. It is highly suggested that applicants make the effort to attend. If one is absolutely unable to attend, then an extended video interview might be held for highly-qualified candidates.
The first camp saw 41 applications pass the initial screening, of which 13 students were eventually invited to attend. At this stage, we are unsure of what to expect in terms of numbers for our second class; however, we are anticipating that the number of applications will be rather somewhat higher.
Your chances will always be higher if you represent yourself clearly and honestly throughout the application process; our application and interview staff are generally able to sense when someone is being genuine and transparent and when they are not.
We look at this process as a mutual one of looking for fit between candidates and our instructors, fit between candidates and our partnered companies, and fit between candidate needs and the program itself. We receive more promising candidates than we can accept and being rejected from our program doesn’t mean that you aren’t qualified to be a developer.
In every camp, our partner companies sponsor students they would like to hire after the camp. These are students that display the potential for technical skills, professional skills, and culture fit a particular employer is looking for. Code Camp Leipzig is free of charge for these students.
Additionally, we offer 1 scholarship to a candidate that demonstrates financial need and strongly aligns with the traits that we look for during the application process. This is generally someone who could not attend the camp otherwise.
Code Camp Leipzig costs 1,500 Euros for Individual candidates —i.e those not receiving a sponsorship from companies or a scholarship from us.
The payment structure is designed to be accessible for everyone by default. The tuition fee is paid in 4 monthly installments during the camp.
Getting sponsored by a company can happen if your employer is willing to pay for your education and you are accepted into Code Camp Leipzig. It can also happen if your profile matches the needs of a partner company of Code Camp Leipzig and both parties find employment a mutually agreeable arrangement.
We create two opportunities for you as an applicant to interact with our partner companies: the Profile Day event and interviews directly with the companies themselves —if they invite you.
Technical positions are in high demand globally; this is especially the case in Leipzig.
We are in contact with several companies who offer roles and projects to our students. As of November 15th, three of our students have jobs with companies and one has decided to do freelance work. We expect to update this number frequently now that they all have portfolio projects and more meetings with employers in the coming weeks.
Code Camp Leipzig trains people in full stack web development, professional workflows, and some computer science fundamentals as a vehicle for providing a general software development skill set. This means front-end or back-end application development roles are accessible after the course, and that you will have a solid foundation to enter nearly any form of programming specialization you desire.
There are also numerous hybrid roles emerging that require technology as a secondary skill set for business and management professionals; graduates of Code Camp Leipzig gain experience in professional development processes, vocabulary and tools, and an understanding of technical capabilities and limitations.
Yes! Students will have guest lectures from employees of tech companies as well as out of class opportunities, such as events, office tours, and workshops.
Please click on “PROGRAM” in the navigation bar above to see a high-level overview of the curriculum we teach. We may eventually release a more detailed brochure here in the future.
You will learn to have confidence in your ability to tackle programming problems and, just as important, to talk about programming as an equal with your peers.
When starting out, it is easy to become overwhelmed by all of the tools you need to learn. It is easy to become overwhelmed by all the unfamiliar terms that get flung around. Many people want to learn coding but have no idea where to start. The barrier can be quite high for people with no support.
If there’s only one thing you end up learning at Code Camp Leipzig, it will be to overcome your fears. You will be able to sit down in front of a problem and feel confident knowing that even if you don’t know the answer, you have the tools and skills to figure it out.
Our curriculum is based on three central themes: good developers need to know their developer tools and team workflows inside and out, good programmers need to understand what’s happening underneath the hood even if they use lots of libraries and other productivity shortcuts, and people learn best when they’re in an engaging social environment with challenging tasks and teachers who use jargon sparingly and never hand-wave over nuances.
Reach out to taylor@codecampleipzig.de and we can talk about the capacity in which you’d like to share your knowledge.
Yes! Our goals are that you become self-driven learners who can pursue your individual projects, that you become a contributing member of Leipzig’s tech community, and that you know what it’s like to be an employee of a tech firm.
You will also gain a friendly and supporting network of alumni, instructors, and CCL staff!
Because we conduct 1-on-1 sessions with all of our students every month, we can tell you in their own words: “Code Camp Leipzig is intense and overwhelming at points.”
Graduates immediately become alumni of Code Camp Leipzig, which means that they will be invited to special events and gatherings with other alumni, CCL team members, and partner companies. Additionally, alumni will be invited to interact with future classes as mentors, teachers, or speakers.
CCL regularly organizes events and activities to gather Leipzig’s creative and tech community. These include hackathons, demo days, parties, coding nights, game competitions, and more.
We organize test lessons in the months leading up to the beginning of a program. Test lessons are a great way to learn some quick tips and get a feel for being a student. Additionally, you can also contact us and schedule a time to sit in on a course. Just reach out to info@codecampleipzig.de
We open the door for individuals and organizations to work with the CCL team and our students in a number of ways. This can be in class as a guest lecturer, mentor, or speaker.
If you would like to hire one of our students or be a partner in the next camp, we have a number of formats for engagement at varying levels of commitment. We also host regular events if you would like to get more connected in Leipzig’s tech scene.
In any case, reach out to taylor@codecampleipzig.de for more information.
Of course! Reach out to taylor@codecampleipzig.de to discuss matching your goals with the right student(s).
Please reach out to taylor@codecampleipzig.de to get our press kit.