South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub

By Nikki Cabus

4Geeks Academy and Boca Code announce merger and plans to expand tech education in Florida

Read Time 5 Minutes

4Geeks Academy, a leading coding bootcamp in Miami, is thrilled to announce its merging with Boca Code, a respected coding school in Boca Raton.

South Florida Tech Hub sat down with 4Geeks Founders, Marcelo Ricigliano and Alejandro Sanchez, and Boca Code Founder, Todd Albert, to discuss this newly formed relationship.

4Geeks Co-Founder, Marcelo Ricigliano, opened the conversation by stating that “Boca Code is a respected and engaging coding school that I had been following for the last few years. The first time I met Todd I let him know he was doing a great job for technical education in Boca Raton and South Florida. This is a great day for everyone involved!”

This strategic merger marks a significant milestone in the evolution of both institutions and promises to enhance the landscape of technology education in the state. With their international headquarters already based in Miami and another Florida location in Orlando, Boca Raton will become the third location in the Florida for 4Geeks Academy.

Marcelo shared that he and Alejandro have dreamed of making 4Geeks a reference in Florida for those wanting to change careers into technology.

Under this new alliance, Boca Code students and alumni will now become part of the 4Geeks family. Prospective learners and the broader community interested in coding education will gain additional access to a wider array of educational resources, courses, and career opportunities. By joining forces, 4Geeks Academy and Boca Code aim to better serve the rapidly growing tech community across the state. 

“Internally, we always talked great things about Boca Code’s results and approach,” Marcelo admits. “This merger aligns with our mission of making quality coding education accessible to all and will enable us to provide even more comprehensive, industry-relevant training to our students.”

Boca Code students are heavily involved in the community through organizations such as South Florida Tech Hub, attending and volunteering for Hackathons, conferences and supporting local entrepreneurs such as with the pitch scoring app they built for last year’s Ignite Florida Startup Summit. Although based in Boca Raton, Boca Code students attend meetups and networking events across the region from Miami-Dade to Indian River.

Alejandro Sanchez, Co-Founder of 4Geeks added, “The job that Todd has done was always followed by us. We really like everything he was doing at Boca Code. It’s really exciting to do this and welcome everyone to 4Geeks Academy. I’m sure it will be an extraordinary experience.” 

He continued, “The Boca Code curriculum is very thorough and are still digesting it. My first reaction when seeing it, was to keep it. We want to take the best from both schools offering students additional options as well as ensure the best possible educational content.”

4Geeks currently offers a more concentrated curriculum around mobile web development with courses in Full Stack Coding Bootcamp, Data Science and ML, and Blockchain and Web3 while Boca Code code curriculum is a little more broad offering courses such as Software Engineering Career Track, Data Analytics and Python, AR / VR and Game Development, Intro to Web Development, Intro to JavaScript and Node.js, and React.

4Geeks is known for offering a unique value, (quality + methodology + financing options + price) aimed to scale among the best coding bootcamps in the state and this will certainly keep them on track to achieving that goal. During the transition phase, Todd Albert, Founder of Boca Code is expected to continue teaching some of the classes.

Boca Code founder Todd Albert added, “Partnering with 4Geeks is a great deal for us. Their team, credibility and experience will drive our community to great standards and outcomes; also, they align well with what we’ve been working to build at Boca Code. I’m happy to be a part of this journey and ready for new challenges to come.” 

Todd is currently the Bootcamps Sub-Committee Chair of the Tech Talent Committee pulling together industry, higher education, bootcamps across the region. 4Geeks is also a part of the Miami Talent Coalition supporting the expansion of tech education connections in Miami. With the merger, Alissa Landra, Campus Manager at 4Geeks will be joining Todd as the South Florida Tech Hub Bootcamps Sub-Committee Co-Chair, helping further connect Miami efforts to the entire region.

Alissa shared that, “Across the United States, 4Geeks has graduated more than 70 cohorts, more than 2,000 graduates, and 35% of those graduates are women. We want to push more women to take our program!” This sentiment is shared across both organizations who have worked with other partners and nonprofits to aid in access and financial assistance to their programs creating more diversity in the tech landscape.

4Geeks Academy and Boca Code share a commitment to providing top-tier coding education as well as making this education accessible to underserved and underrepresented groups of people in the community. 4Geeks has worked with organizations such as United Way Miami and Miami Dade College to offer education to those who may not have access otherwise. Boca Code has built a long-standing relationship with TechStrong Group, a Boca Raton-based media and events company, who provide scholarships to students through the “Engineer the Change” program. 

This merger brings together the expertise and resources of both organizations, resulting in improved learning materials and support for students. Students will gain access to a wider range of coding languages, technologies, industry-focused courses, and even scholarships and financial support. Graduates will also benefit from an expanded professional network, providing more opportunities for career growth across the South Florida region. 

For more information about the merger or to inquire about enrollment opportunities, please visit 4geeksacademy.com  or contact (786) 416-6640.

By Nikki Cabus

Title 1 Cypress Run Education Center collaborates with community and industry for final school year’s student hackathon

Read Time 4 Minutes

Combining art and coding, Cypress Run Education Center held it’s final Hackathon of the 2023 school year – and the student projects were amazing!

This year’s fourth quarter and final hackathon expanded the students’ creativity for the ‘Mark Art Hackathon.’ A Pokémon character, robots, race car, Hello Kitty, a city scape and so man other art projects were featured. School District representatives, community partners and even industry leaders were there as judges, sponsors and volunteers for the day. The event was sponsored by the Broward County School District, South Florida Tech Hub, and CloudHesive who provided gift bags, pizza and dessert for all students and cash prizes and swag bags for the contest winners.

At Cypress Run, the total minority enrollment is 90%, and 82% of students are economically disadvantaged. As a Title 1 alternative school in Broward County for K-12 students, Cypress Run doesn’t have access to all the resources that some students may have across the district, but Ms. Osas Guis-Obaseki, or Ms. “O” to her students, doesn’t let that stop her.

She is a programmer, engineer and current STEM and Computer Science teacher who has been instrumental in scaling up the school’s computer science initiatives and student engagement in community STEM programming. Ms. O was also named the 2021-22 Teacher of the Year for Cypress Run Education Center.

Ms. Osas has spearheaded a STEM Club that meets biweekly to expose students to programming and the computer science field. She has given students the opportunity to to build computers, learn coding and programming, and gain skills using digital tools. Ms. O hosts quarterly Hackathons where students demonstrate their coding skills and compete with other students. Under her leadership, students have complete the Microsoft certifications in HTML and CSS Programming, Website Design, and MS Office.

CloudHesive, an Amazon Premier Partner and an Amazon Managed Services Partner in the cloud technology space, provided gift bags for all students and cash prizes for the winners. People and Culture Leader, Mallory Ryska, volunteered to help set up the event and was there to greet the students as they entered the hackathon classroom.

“A big thank you to our friends at South Florida Tech Hub for including us in Cypress Run Education Center’s Hackathon this past Friday. CloudHesive welcomes any opportunity to develop and support the future engineers in our community. And we greatly appreciate the work Mrs. O does in her classroom to inspire the next generation in tech,” Mallory wrote in a social media post.

Using CoffeeScript, an easily understandable shorthand form of JavaScript, the middle school students had approximately a week to built their art master pieces. The were scored according to the following categories: Visualization, Creativity, Pictures & Background, Design Implementation, and Code Functionality. The high schoolers had to imagine their own high school or college and build a website for the school. They used HTML and CSS for their projects. Judges included Matthew Fritzius, Curriculum Supervisor with Broward County School District, Nikki Cabus, Tech Hub’s CEO, Monica Darville-Martinez, Math Coach for Broward County Schools.

Ms. O partnered with Tech Hub to give her students the opportunity to attend the annual TECHpalooza 2022 allowing students access to one of South Florida leading tech conferences, get exposure to tech professionals and companies across the region, and gain necessary communication skills through volunteering alongside event staff. She also worked with Tech Hub to get access to Broward County’s JROTC Fleet Week STEM Day 2023. In addition to Tech Hub, Ms. O has garnered various business partnerships to support the STEM Initiative at Cypress Run, such as Oracle, ReGenerate Tech, and many more.

Dr. Gastrid Harrington, Cypress Run Education Center’s Principal, Adjunct Professor at Broward College, and Podcaster, was in attendance.

“The goal and the objective is to expose students to coding and programming skills,” he told Tech Hub in an interview.  “Having industry connect with our students is an invaluable experience for them.”

Cypress Run Education Center has been awarded a few grants over the last couple years including the School Choice Enhancement Program (SCEP) and FPL’s $50,000 Classroom Makeover Grant via the NextEra Energy Foundation’s $2 million, four-year commitment. As part of FPL’s commitment to STEM education, the grant funds will improve technology, equipment and resources for the next generation of innovators.

The grant is intended to provide transformational learning opportunities for Black students in a classroom setting. Funds addressed needs in infrastructure, technology or resources (i.e. software, equipment, books, training of teachers, tutors, paraprofessionals) to advance the STEM curriculum and increase exposure of STEM education and careers.

Cypress Run Education Center would love to welcome you to their next Hackathon. Email team@techhubsouthflorida.org to find out how you can support.

By Nikki Cabus

Techstrong supports diversity in tech; the next Engineer The Change scholarship recipient announced

Read Time 5 Minutes

Techstrong Group has teamed up with Boca Code once again to award another ‘Engineer the Change’ scholarship to help foster diversity in South Florida tech talent pool and empower individuals from underserved communities to develop the skills needed to succeed in the industry.

The scholarship is awarded twice per year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Winners receive $10,000 each to put toward Boca Code’s Software Engineering Course. The 10-week intensive coding bootcamp combines theory and hands-on, project-based learning that prepares the students for a career in software engineering. Boca Code offers adults comprehensive training in software development using real projects for real companies to best prepare you for and help place you in a career in the tech industry.

Our Engineer The Change scholarship recipient for the Spring 2023 cohort is . . . Camila Sandoval!

Camila was born in Colombia, South America in a small town where tragedy struck her family early on. With the support of her grandmother who taught her English and her mother who instilled strong values and a love for mathematics, Camila was driven to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering where she took two programming classes that ignited her interest in coding. She then realized she wanted to dedicate her career to developing medical software. With few opportunities in Colombia in this field, she moved to South Florida, a state known for healthcare and innovation.

Moving to the United States presented several challenges, including a lack of connections, her degree not being recognized, and having to prioritize finding a job to cover my basic needs over prioritizing her education. She continued self-taught online bootcamps where she discovered Boca Code and the “Engineer the Change” scholarship opportunity. She knew this was her next step.

Camila has a great desire to help others and much of that stems from her own personal experiences. She believes these opportunities should be available to everyone no matter there background or circumstances.

Upon winning, Camila told South Florida Tech Hub, “As an immigrant, winning the Engineer the Change Scholarship means more than just having the financial support to achieve my goals. It also provides me with the opportunity to join an industry that transforms the world. I am grateful for the chance to contribute my unique perspective and inspire others who may be facing similar challenges.”

Congratulations, Camila, we are all rooting for you!

The Engineer the Change scholarships combine two goals that are core to Techstrong Group:

  1. Doing their part to make South Florida a world-class hub for the tech industry and
  2. Providing opportunities for individuals from underrepresented communities to acquire the skills they need for a successful career in tech.

Techstrong Group is a media company and the power source for people and technology accelerating understanding of technologies that drive business by serving the needs of IT leaders and practitioners with news, research, analysis, events, education, certifications and professional development. Their focus is digital transformation, DevOps, cybersecurity, cloud and cloud-native under brands such as Techstrong Media, Techstrong Associations, Techstrong Research, Techstrong Learning and Techstrong Live!

“We are proud to continue our partnership with Boca Code to support and empower talented individuals who are seeking opportunities for growth and have demonstrated a deep commitment to pursuing a career in IT,” said Alan Shimel, founder and CEO at Techstrong Group. The scholarship will be awarded to the most deserving student whose application shows a genuine interest in technology and demonstrates the potential to be a future leader.”

Research shows a staggering lack of diversity in STEM fields, most noticeably within computer and engineering positions. It is a glaring workforce disparity that requires both recognition and responsibility from those at the highest levels in the tech world to create a more diverse and equitable workforce.

To be eligible, applicants must be over the age of 18 and be part of an underrepresented community (i.e. women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans or other minority groups). To be considered, applicants will are required to submit an essay (minimum of 500 words in length) detailing how they can serve as a role model to other disadvantaged individuals hoping to acquire the skills to become successful tech workers and what type of career in the tech industry they are hoping to pursue.

While the idea is to help the South Florida tech community, applicants can apply from anywhere as long as their essay explains why they are coming to South Florida to launch their tech career.

Boca Code CEO Todd Albert told South Florida Tech Hub that ‘The scholarship has a huge impact because we have been able to help students that would otherwise not have been able to afford to attend. We’ve given 8 students the opportunity to change their lives and have a better future for them and their families.”

“Techstrong is an amazing partner and shares our passion for making the tech community even more diverse,” he continued.

“It is important to us that we seize every opportunity to help foster diversity and inclusivity within the tech industry, and the Engineer the Change scholarship is a great start to empowering disadvantaged minorities within the South Florida community to grow their technical skill set.”

Unlike other code schools where students work on dummy projects, Boca Code partners with real companies to give our students real life resume-worthy projects to work on that not only build their portfolio, but give them meaningful experiences. Their curriculum is designed by professional educators and senior developers.

Additionally, scholarship winners are featured in the ‘Engineering the Change’ video series, produced by Techstrong Group, which follows the recipients on their journey to become software engineers. From the highs to the lows, you can get a view into what these software engineering students are facing.

Additional Resources

By Nancy Dahlberg

Code Palm Beach growing to inspire more kids in tech

Read Time 3 Minutes

You’d be hard-pressed to find many tech initiatives that are more inspired and community-driven than Code Palm Beach.

“Our main goal is to give every student in Palm Beach County the opportunity to experience technology and see if it is something they are interested in. We would like every student to have a basic knowledge of code because in our time it is important to understand the way computers speak and how to talk to them. We are trying our hardest to get to every kid in the county,” explained Madison Cuellar, Administrator of Code Palm Beach.

To accomplish this, the non-profit Code Palm Beach runs free coding events monthly for kids in grades K-12. It partners with the South Florida Science Center, Palm Beach County School District and local libraries, as well as the Palm Beach Tech Association.

It’s powered by more than 50 volunteers.

To introduce the kids to coding, Code Palm Beach brings in tech professionals – from entry level developers to CTOs – to teach and mentor. They come from companies such as NextEra Energy/FPL, Arrow Digital, Dycom, Hello Labs, PGA and others. Through these events, Code Palm Beach creates a positive environment that promotes tech, coding, engineering, and robotics education and leverages readily available curriculum from Code.org and freeCodeCamp.

“All of our volunteers are industry professionals and Palm Beach Tech gives us a good pool to pull from,” Cuellar said.

BRANCHING OUT

Code Palm Beach is expanding to reach more kids.

“We started with two locations and now we have six and we are adding an intermediate class and an advanced class,” said Cuellar, who coordinates with the libraries, volunteers and parents to ensure everything is running smoothly. Current locations include the South Florida Science Center, libraries in Royal Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton and in West Palm Beach and the STEM Studio in Jupiter.  Each location aims to hold at least one class a month, sometimes more, depending on the volunteer pool.

The volunteer spirit was baked in from Code Palm Beach’s beginnings. In 2016,  George Whitaker and Sean Biganski saw a need and founded CoderDojo Palm Beach, a kids coding club, with a handful of parents in the tech industry. “They said there isn’t enough STEM education and we’re just going to do it,” Cuellar said. Then with the help of the community, it evolved into Code Palm Beach. Biganski and Whitaker have remained active in Code Palm Beach, and are Chair and Treasurer respectively.

Palm Beach Tech came aboard and partnered with the organization in 2018 to bring classes to more even kids.

“Watching Sean & George lead CoderDojo was inspiring,” said Joe Russo, CEO of Palm Beach Tech. “It’s exciting to share the joy of coding with our next generation, and the Palm Beach Tech community has stepped up make this a reality for 100’s of local students.”

 

ADDING INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED CLASSES

Most of the kids Code Palm Beach has helped so far have been in the 6-14 age group. Now the organization is offering more classes and events for intermediate and advanced students.

“Our courses aren’t large classes where everyone follows the same tasks. It is dependent on where you are as a student,” Cuellar explained. “We have students who come in with no experience and more advanced ones. We have different platforms that allow more advanced students to work on what they are comfortable with and volunteers to help move them along.”

Code Palm Beach plans to add a game development course, Cuellar said. “We always have kids who come in and say I want to hack the coolest game. We just want to have whatever kids are interested in and sneak in some education.”

It’s working. More than 650 students have been helped.

“The kids come back. You see them progress, we get a lot of regulars and they are growing a lot. That they are moving through the courses shows that it is working.”

To find out more about Code Palm Beach’s free activities or to volunteer: Visit codepalmbeach.org  or call (561)-425-8918.

By Nikki Cabus

Palm Beach Code School Hosting Free Workshops

Read Time < 1 Minute

The Palm Beach Code School is hosting an hour-long introduction course to HTML & CSS, two of the most common languages used by web developers.

WHEN: Monday, July 25th @ 6:00pm

WHERE: Palm Beach Tech Space

They also offer 8-week and 16 week programs providing training for a career in Web Development, with their next classes starting in August.

This free coding workshop is presented by the Palm Beach Tech Association!

4Geeks Academy and Boca Code announce merger and plans to expand tech education in Florida
Title 1 Cypress Run Education Center collaborates with community and industry for final school year’s student hackathon
Techstrong supports diversity in tech; the next Engineer The Change scholarship recipient announced
Code Palm Beach growing to inspire more kids in tech
Palm Beach Code School Hosting Free Workshops