The tech education grit:lab attracts students from over 20 different countries

The first round of grit:lab brought together 70 students from 20 different countries, ranging in age from 18 to 43 years, with various professions and backgrounds, on Åland. Twenty-three of the students are from Åland, while the rest come from countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, India, Bosnia, and Brazil. 

- Several of our students have already lived a few years in Finland or the Nordic countries before moving to Åland, but for many it is a big step – they have moved here from a completely different part of the world, including Brazil, Singapore, and Vietnam, says Anna-Lena Svenblad, co-director at grit:lab.

A developing challenge

Anna-Lena Svenblad explains that the selection process began with a two-hour online test, which was open to anyone interested worldwide – including those without prior programming experience. The only restriction was an age limit of 18 years. 

- We tested the participants' memory and their cognitive and logical thinking. We then invited 150 of those with the highest scores to a piscine, a four-week deep dive into coding here in Åland.

After the intensive piscine weeks, 70 eager problem-solvers ultimately remained, ready to take on grit:lab and begin their new careers in the tech industry.
- It's truly a challenge, but I see nothing negative about a challenge. It leads to growth and development, summarizes one of the students at grit:lab.

The programmers of the future

The program is run by the Åland-based gaming company Paf in collaboration with Åland's Vocational School and the Government of Åland. The campus is also located in Paf's modern premises just outside Mariehamn. Around ten other tech companies are also involved in the program as grit:lab Partners and will continually interact with the students throughout the two-year studies. In addition to educating creative programmers, the idea is to open up future employment opportunities by allowing the companies and students to find each other during their studies.

According to Anna-Lena Svenblad, the students are extremely motivated and creative. 
- It shows not only in their studies – they are also eager outside the learning platform and want to do everything from learning Swedish to participating in meet-ups, hackathons, and various sports activities together with the tech companies connected to the program. That is why we are also launching a Swedish course here at Paf with two lessons per week.

Collective learning

grit:lab is based on 01 Edu, Nicolas Sadirac's educational platform for awakening digital talents, and has neither teachers nor textbooks. In addition to self-leadership, the platform is based on gamification, meaning the use of various game elements and a system that awards points and unlocks the next level once you have completed a task. Equally important, however, is peer-to-peer learning and creative collaboration. Anna-Lena explains that the platform is balanced to encourage students to help each other and learn together.

- To advance to the next level, you need to review and assess others' work – a skilled programmer therefore cannot work through the levels alone and simply perform independently, but needs the rest of the group in order to succeed. It is when you can explain things to others that you also learn more deeply yourself.

The platform is thus designed so that it benefits all participants to share their experiences with others. This, however, places high demands on the students, who are responsible both for their own learning and to the group. A major adjustment for some, while others thrive with the setup.

As one of the students sums it up:
- It's so great! It's not just a nice dream or a good idea – it actually works!