Tallinn Education Department and international programming school kood/Jõhvi are launching a partnership to offer three Estonian-language programming courses to ten Tallinn high schools starting from the next academic year. The first course – an introduction to programming – was presented on Wednesday, which students at Tallinna Tehnikagümnaasium have already started taking at their own pace since last week.
The Tallinn Education Department selected ten schools to participate in the innovative kood/Jõhvi programming program. While Tallinn is covering the costs for these initial ten schools, other schools may also purchase the courses independently. The elective courses designed for high schools by kood/Jõhvi are in Estonian and follow a self-directed learning format, where students study independently and in collaboration with peers – the same method used in kood/Jõhvi’s adult program. The three courses include an introduction to programming, web development, and data analysis.
“We see that it is increasingly important in today’s society to develop practical digital skills and deepen students’ knowledge of the technology sector. The high interest from schools shows that programming skills are considered essential,” said Kaarel Rundu, Head of Tallinn Education Department and the initiator of the idea.
Tallinn’s Deputy Mayor for Education Aleksei Jašin emphasized that focusing on future skills and providing students with foundational knowledge early on helps them make better career choices and be better prepared for the future. “STEM subjects are the cornerstone of future education – they open new opportunities for young people and provide a strong foundation for further development. Tallinn supports educational innovation, and this initiative, in cooperation with our strong partner kood/Jõhvi, brings programming education into high schools. It equips young people with practical digital skills, expands their future opportunities, and helps raise a new generation of creative and tech-savvy professionals.”
The courses are in Estonian and follow a self-directed learning approach, similar to the kood/Jõhvi adult learning model.
Kätlin Merisalu, Head of the kood/Jõhvi learning center, explained that the programming elective course is suitable for students from all backgrounds. The aim is to make learning the basics of programming easy and engaging: “According to the latest monitoring study in the ICT sector, the demand for ICT professionals remains high. By offering programming elective courses, we help introduce students to the field. Students from different high school levels can take the courses, and completing the program supports the development of self-directed learners. Programming skills help young people understand and shape the future of technology and ensure Estonia remains a leader in technological innovation.”
During Wednesday’s demo lesson, students from various Tallinn high schools had a chance to try writing code. The first lesson focused on an introduction to programming and the Python programming language. The importance of coding in education was discussed by Deputy Mayor Aleksei Jašin, Education Department Director Kaarel Rundu, and Tallinna Tehnikagümnaasium School’s IT teacher Urve Kivila.
kood/Jõhvi first began offering these programming courses in schools in Võru County, where students are already participating this spring.
Starting from autumn, programming courses will be offered in the following Tallinn schools:
Tallinna Tehnikagümnaasium, Tallinna Rakenduslik Kolledž, Tallinna Kuristiku Gümnaasium, Kadrioru Saksa Gümnaasium, Tallinna Tõnismäe Reaalkool, Tallinna Järveotsa Gümnaasium, Tallinna Kesklinna Vene Gümnaasium, Lasnamäe Gümnaasium, Tallinna Inglise Kolledž, Tallinna Lilleküla Gümnaasium.
kood/Jõhvi is a tech education program launched in autumn 2021 based on self- and group-based learning, with the aim of training full-stack software developers. The 12–18-month program teaches problem-solving and teamwork, as well as front-end and back-end development. In the final stage, learners specialize in areas such as cybersecurity, mobile app development, artificial intelligence, or data analysis.
In three years, kood/Jõhvi has admitted six cohorts with a total of 1,100 learners. Around 150 have already graduated and entered the job market. Students come from 33 nationalities, with an average age of 28, and 22% of them are women. In summer 2024, a sister school called kood/Sisu was opened in Finland, and a new school will open in Võru in autumn 2025.
Source: tallinn.ee