Within six weeks from opening the application period, 7000 subscriptions to the online test have already been submitted and over 2,200 applicants have passed the online test for the coding school Hive Helsinki. 32% of all applicants are women. The administration of Hive Helsinki has been reorganized and the new school is getting ready for the arrival of its first students in October 2019.
Application period is ongoing
The application period started on January 15th. Within just six weeks, 7000 subscriptions to the online test were submitted and over 2,200 applicants had already passed the preliminary online test.
“The application period is constantly ongoing. At the same time, we are supporting the goal of attracting talented applicants from all walks of life by a set of initiatives. Coding can be the way we can help to solve tomorrow’s problems! So far, 32 % of all applicants are women, which is a good start, but the goal is to reduce the gender bias of the profession even more,” says Linda Liukas, chair of Hive Helsinki Board.
The first live informational events were hosted on March 2nd for 300 applicants. A total of 1,500 people will attend these events during March and receive detailed information about the school’s philosophy, pedagogical approach, educational plan and practical issues. The next step in the selection process is an immersive four-week training period called Piscine, meaning “swimming pool”. The first Piscine training period will start on July 8th.
The administrative structure of the school reorganized
The administration structure has evolved post launch. Hive Helsinki is owned by the Hive Helsinki foundation and its board consists of Linda Liukas, Petteri Koponen, Jaakko Lehtinen and Drussila Hollanda-Grönberg. On March 1st, Drussila Hollanda-Grönberg was appointed by the board as an interim CEO to ensure that Hive Helsinki is successfully developed based on the proven philosophy of its model school, Ecole 42, and to ensure that the school works in close co-operation with its many partnering companies.
The operative team of Hive Helsinki has also been appointed. Jordane Gengo, Oleksii Martynovskyi and Paula Lantran are alumni from the original Ecole 42 and a partner school in Ukraine. They will be responsible for the technology behind the school, but also ensuring the pedagogy and peer-to-peer learning is successful. Oona Ylänkö oversees the school’s brand and communications to support Hive’s mission of changing the image of coding.
Minna Kivihalme, who joined Hive Helsinki as Head Master before its launch and who had a crucial role in getting the school started, chose to leave the project to pursue other interests. The role is thus discontinued.
“Launching and kicking off Hive was a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime adventure for me. From the start, I was impressed with its underlying philosophy and I believe that Hive Helsinki will grow into a unique institution. Nevertheless, I see my own strengths and interests in a broader context of education and feel that I have now been given a great set of new tools in continuing my path,” says Kivihalme.
“I want to thank Minna for her great input in creating our administrative processes and in making sure that Hive Helsinki is educationally aligned with existing pedagogic standards. Without Minna’s understanding of the Finnish educational system, we would not have been able to move this fast,” says Hollanda-Grönberg.
Hive Helsinki will open its doors in a newly renovated building in Kallio, Helsinki in July 2019.