This best-case scenario would be a dream come true for Despina Stamkou, who has made it her mission to help women launch careers in the IT sector.
With a 23-year international career in tech and at least five million lines of code under her belt, Despina is well equipped to help job seekers and technology firms find a mutually beneficial pathway to a better gender balance.
As with all tech- and innovation-driven verticals, FinTech’s success is highly dependent on the supply of a high number of qualified developers. Even though tech teams rarely hit the headlines, they play a crucial role in developing the software we all take for granted.
Despina and her co-founder Margareta Kowalska were frustrated after attending multiple gender-diversity conferences in 2017. The industry talked a lot about diversity, but the real action was in short supply. With the financial support of Stockholm’s FinTech unicorn Klarna, alongside Nordea Bank and gaming company MRG Gametek, SmartCoding began offering evening programming courses for women.
The tutors are practitioners and active developers in the FinTech industry. The courses are based on ultralearning, a practice-based and solution-oriented method that allows participants to make progress within a very short amount of time. Applicants can choose between a beginner or junior level depending on their prior knowledge of programming.