Sberbank Rossii : starting selection for 2019’s first pool of School 21

• On 28 January 2019, this year's first intensive coding course (pool) of School 21 that trains world-class IT specialists will start.
• About 300 participants are to be selected to take part in the school's four-week educational course.
• The school is free: anyone from 18 to 30 years old who successfully passes the competition can become a student.

14 January 2019, Moscow - Sberbank announces the beginning of candidates' selection to take part in School 21's first four-week coding course in 2019.

School 21, an educational initiative of Sberbank, was launched in November 2018. It trains world-class IT specialists under a unique method: without any schedule or teachers. Its name reflects the number of levels of preparation and the amount of knowledge that a specialist needs in the 21st century. The school plans to enrol up to 1,000 students every year. It was founded on the basis of the agreement between Sberbank and École 42, an organisation that became one of the world leaders of IT education in five years since its foundation.

School 21's educational programme begins with a four-week coding course, named the pool. At the end of the pool, students have a chance to start long-term education which lasts from 1.5 to 4 years, depending on their learning speed and skills.

The pool is a very intensive study of coding and an endurance test; its main goal is to introduce students to the educational method and find the most skilled and motivated people for further education. The participants will receive access to the system at workplaces with first-class equipment and immerse themselves in solving programming tasks that gradually get tougher. Over the month they solve dozens of difficult tasks individually and in groups. The participants will have to independently find information required to complete the tasks whilst working to tight deadlines.

This means that all students, regardless of their personal coding experience, will face challenges. Many of them have already received a technical education, including in IT, but there are a large number of people with liberal arts education; they start coding from scratch.

Head of School 21 Svetlana Infimovskaya:

'The pool is not just the main selection stage to enter the school, but also an independent, intensive and very difficult coding course. That's why the pool is perfect for those who don't know how to start in this area or want to reach a new professional level.'

On 28 January 2019, School 21 will launch this year's first pool. The second one will begin on 25 February, and three more selections are planned in summer 2019. About 300 people are expected to join the first pool from different regions of Russia, like in previous pools. About half of the participants represented Moscow and the Moscow Region in previous pools, the other half - other regions of Russia and foreign countries.

Education at the school is free. The number of female students grows with every new pool. Anyone from 18 to 30 years old who successfully passes the competition can become a student of the school. The first selection stage is an online game that is accessible all year round. Those who successfully pass it are invited to take part in interviews

You can find more information about School 21 and take part in the online game on the website: http://www.21-school.ru.