AlphaPlan is a non-profit organization focused on building a knowledge transfer bridge between Silicon Valley and the youth in Albania through the pursuit of technology and innovation. The Code for Albania program, executed in close collaboration with Code X from Stanford, is the core program of the organization and it is supplemented with Hour of Code and ad hoc workshops from Albanian working in tech, in the USA. AlphaPlan is an international partner of Code.org and embraces its vision “to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by young women and students from other underrepresented groups”.
What was the challenge?
Based on their stakeholder research, the education system in Albania is lagging in terms of the contemporaneity of the content discussed along the lines of computer science and design thinking. AlphaPlan believes that Albania needs a new generation capable of coding, and also capable of solving problems with a human-centered design approach. Moreover, the preconceptions existing in the Albanian culture, steer women away from ICT and STEM fields at large. Code for Albania committed to diversity and a 1:1 gender ratio enables its participants to embrace the best practices around technology and innovation similar to what is taught in the classrooms of the US.
What is the solution?
AlphaPlan complements the opportunities already present in the country with extracurricular programs and projects such as Code for Albania, whereas youth can be exposed to technology and learn from US best practices.
Their vision of 100,000 Coders for Albania 2030 aims to increase the number of coders in the country by advocating mostly four things:
Including computer science from elementary school and setting up the necessary infrastructure.
Organizing a national competition and creation of a fast lane for the most talented youth.
The making of accessible coding boot camps for youth who want to enter the tech job market.
Providing accessible devices and internet connection for youth.
AlphaPlan believes that these will give the necessary support to extend the community of coders and also raise its future local leaders.