The future language of humans is coding and there is nothing like it if you already know it. But if you are one of those trying to find a good deal to learn coding, then The Hacking School based in Hyderabad is the right place for you. Started by Meraj Faheem in 2013, The Hacking School is one of India's first coding bootcamp start-ups. Why a bootcamp when you can conduct regular classes? Meraj explains, "In 2013, when I was working on my second start-up, Money Messenger, we faced a constant problem of finding good quality product developers. We tried all the traditional methods of hiring coders but that didn’t work out. That's when I looked at more mature markets to understand how they did it, and that introduced me to coding bootcamps. When I looked for this in India, there were none. That’s when I decided to set up The Hacking School."
What makes The Hacking School different from others is their bootcamp environment, not only do they have instructors around to mentor you but there are also other students to give you the push you need. "Who better than your fellow coding bootcamp mates to encourage and motivate you and help you stay on track? You’ll also have full access to the instructors, which means you’ll be able to address all your doubts on the go. There will be opportunities to work with each other, such as pair programming, and build a team rapport that will be important later on when you start working - be it as a developer or as an entrepreneur," explains Meraj who has a background in Biotechnology and Clinical Research.
Meraj believes that they are different in several ways including the quality of their instructors, their curriculum, career support and placement assistance. He says, "Our bootcamp takes place for three to four months and is intense and immersive. Our instructors have vast expertise and come from different educational and professional backgrounds. We think that the curriculum plays an important role and we provide an agile product-based learning approach to our Full-Stack Product Development. On each of the products, students attain a full learning curve of what it takes to transform an idea into a full-fledged working product. In terms of career support, students are trained after the bootcamp to help achieve their individual goals. They have frequent one-on-one sessions with the team to track and discuss their progress. They gain exposure to industry experts via our in-class tech talks from industry experts. Also with start-up enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, we help with access to the market, incubation centres and investors."
Meraj has some big plans for The Hacking School that he hopes to execute once we're out of the shadow of the pandemic. He feels that talent in India must be respected on the world stage, not just as cheap labour. For this, one needs to train them and provide valuable skills. He explains, "We expect to expand our educational and learning programmes both at the collegiate and school levels. We’ve been talking to a lot of engineering institutes and universities lately to create a curriculum that will help generate an industry-ready workforce. Our new initiative kids.
