Prepare Bulgarian Kids for the Jobs of the Future

During the current reporting period in Telerik Academy School (TAS) we said goodbye to 2019 and welcomed an even more exciting 2020.

Overview: What we accomplished with your help in the 2019-2020 school year

Originally, we planned to start the 2019/2020 school year with 80 cohorts in 20 cities, but thanks to you, we have 102 cohorts across 25 cities in Bulgaria.

• 2179 students enrolled
• 102 cohorts in 25 cities, compared to 65 cohorts in 15 cities (2018/2019), (Dojo, Digital Science, Competitive Development, Game Development, Web Development)
• 48 delivery locations (facilities), compared to 29 during the previous school year
• 28 sponsored cohorts, compared to 6 during the previous school year
• We had more than 3,700+ candidates

In addition to the scaling of our existing programs, based on the interest stated in our parent and student surveys, we developed a brand-new program in Web Development for 8-12 graders and kick-started pilot cohorts in Sofia. Our aim for this school year is to test, validate and prepare materials for teachers. If the program proves scalable, we will consider opening pilot cohorts out of Sofia during the next school year.

Currently, our cohorts are developing wonderfully, and all involved – students, parents, teachers and schools - are excited by the results they see. We are happy to share with you some of their feedback and below you will find a couple of our latest photos.

“For a second year I am studying at Telerik Academy School, and this year I am learning Web Development. I take great pleasure in the classes because the atmosphere is extremely friendly and creative, and the bonus to the overall experience is that I already know what I want to do after I graduate. " – Boris, student

“My son enjoys most of all his activities the time spent at Telerik Academy School! Thanks!” – Desislava, parent

“My big son Nicky is admitted Computer Science and Engineering at the Technical University of Delft, Netherlands, which is one of the most elite engineering universities in Europe. Massive thank you!" – Yordanka, parent

"Telerik Academy School adds new opportunities for our school in the field of ICT training, which we could not have previously provided at the same level. It is an attractive focal pointer for many of the talented children in the city who are interested in technology. TAS allows us to better organize the extracurricular activities of the students by encouraging them to seek expression within the environment they know and love." - Diana, Director of "Vasil Levski" Primary School in Razgrad

For the first time this year, we conducted mid-year qualifications for our Game Development students. By assessing the knowledge achieved we managed to place students in levels that better correspond to their current skills and improve their motivation. This also led to optimizing our groups and opening of a new cohort, which allows us to share our knowledge and educational programs with more students. We see this as a great opportunity to grow our impact.

Competitions

We organized the first 2 out of 4 planned online competitions for our students enrolled in the Competitive Development program. They aim at helping the youngsters get a sense of what Informatics competitions are and get accustomed to the format and tasks. This allows children to make an informed decision whether they like competing and prepare them for the real national and international tournaments and Olympiads.

We see a great effect from those competitions. Our students, alumni, and teachers showed amazing results in the national and international competitions in programming and IT during the last year. As a result of their incredible performance in the national competitions during the 2018-2019 school year, 21 were selected to participate in the teams that represented our country in the international informatics competitions during the summer and autumn. This makes up 87% of all students, chosen to represent Bulgaria.

We are especially proud that all Bulgarian participants in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) and European Junior Olympiad in Informatics (eJOI) were our alumni. They won a total of 8 medals - 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze at the IOI, and 3 silver and 1 bronze at the eJOI.

What's Next

Telerik Academy School has ambitious plans for the upcoming years. We aim to equip as many kids, as possible with the key skills for the digital economy and fostering their logical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills. To achieve this goal, we plan to start the next school year with 132 cohorts in Bulgaria. We are currently launching our 2020-2021 campaign for new cohort sponsorships around the country. We are looking to expand our current and develop new partnerships that will allow us to provide even more children with access to our programs.

For the 2020-2021 school year, we will further develop our programs and train more teachers to be the movers and shakers of the education that prepares students for the professions of the future.

We’d like to take the time to extend our utmost gratitude to you, our donors, who are making this journey for all our kids possible. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without your support and we have a lot more planned next!

Thank you for supporting us!