A teacher from the Computer Department of Faculty of Electrical Engineering prepared a course that nine Ukrainian children aged 14 to 18 started to attend. The Python programming courses are held once a week on Friday afternoons, with one group now two, and in addition to the centre in Nusle for older children, two courses are also running for children aged 10 to 14 in Holešovice, where 16 children are learning the basics of programming at their age level at the Přístav community centre.
Dr. Serédi is assisted by four Ukrainian students from Faculty of Electrical Engineering, who are involved in teaching and, in addition, facilitate communication with the children as native speakers. Kseniia Yemtseva, Kateryna Padusenko, Rakhman Karymshakov and Ivan Zinchenko do volunteer work alongside their demanding studies. Their reward is a share in the rapid progress their charges have made in a year under their guidance.
Kateryna Padusenko, a student of the Software Engineering and Technology program at the CTU FEL, who teaches Python at the center in Nusel, says: "Words cannot express the feelings when children who have never tried programming can now write a piece of functional code on their own. I am very proud of them. And maybe it somewhat replaces communication with my younger brother who lives in Ukraine with his parents."
Talented high school students want to become programmers
"As Ukrainian refugees become more integrated into Czech society, they need to be supported in other activities. They are no longer so dependent on direct material aid, but they appreciate much more that they can be educated in progressive fields that will give them a good start on the labour market. This is also the story of several gifted children who attend courses in Nusle and have done a great deal of work in a year. Some high school students who attend the course in Nusle have a clear motivation: they want to become programmers and make a living in this profession, " confirms Dr. Ladislav Serédi, who also receives very positive feedback from the parents of his students.
Galyna Andreytsiv, the head of the Prague Maidan Ukrainian Centre in Nusle, which provides the premises and facilities for the course, also appreciates the positive reactions of parents and children. "Programming has a future and it is a way of earning money that brings independence. Parents welcome the fact that children spend their time in a meaningful way and that they enjoy it so much. We are happy that children are accompaniedin these courses by experts from CTU Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Kataryna organizes everything and is in contact with parents and children, " says Galyna Andreytsiv.
Prague Maidan offers courses focused on different areas of knowledge that high school students will be able to use in their future studies at university. For example, programming on Raspberry Pi.
Thanks to the course, they can program a computer game in 9th grade
Vladislava Laviniuková, a 9th grade student who enjoys drawing and also likes to play computer games, has been attending the course for more than half a year. "Programming in Python will help me to create a computer game myself, which is my dream. At the beginning I had only basic knowledge, I learned everything here. It is important for me that the course is in Ukrainian, because I still have a language barrier in Czech, " says Vladislava, who appreciates that programming opens new perspectives for her.
Her mother, Olha Laviniuková, confirms that Vladislava wants to develop further in computer graphics and game design, where she can combine her passion for painting and computer skills. "Every time my daughter comes back from the course, she is enthusiastic to show at home what new things she has learned. The teacher Kateryna Padusenko makes the lessons interesting and manages to explain even difficult material to the children . After half a year, the children have already acquired the basics and can learn more advanced things, such as creating a bot for social networks, " describes the children's progress.