Backbase & Hack Your Future
We started our collaboration with Hack Your Future back in 2018, when the coding school was looking for a new home. We decided not to be indifferent and happily provided our work space for coding classes on Sundays - which eventually grew into a long-lasting partnership. We felt lucky to have an opportunity to do something more for this group of incredibly motivated and driven individuals.
Hack Your Future (HYF) is focused on teaching refugees how to program quickly, gain skills that are demanded on the job-market, and connect them with companies that hire programmers.
Today, we are sharing Sima’s story She is a 29-year-old Hack your Future graduate, who joined Backbase this March as an intern, and already 4 months into her internship she was offered a full-time frontend developer position.
Sima's Story
Originally coming from Syria, Sima came to the Netherlands in 2018 after her husband, who happens to be the HYF Class 0 graduate too. “I was not able to move to the Netherlands on the family reunification visa, so the only option I was left with, is to wait for my husband to get a job here”, says Sima. And he did, thanks to Hack Your Future. “Hack Your Future is like a second family, they helped my husband to find a job and bring me here, and now they are helping me to start my career in the Netherlands. It is more than just a programming school, it feels like a small society.”, adds Sima.
Indeed, Hack Your Future is more than just a non-profit coding school it is a whole community made of students, mentors, and the managing board, all willing to help each other. In only 7 months, the program aims at helping refugees and other disadvantaged people to become full-stack developers and independent coders while providing full integration to the Dutch working environment and culture. And it goes beyond that. Hack Your Future does not only assist in finding work placement for individuals, but it also helps to reunite families and start building a whole new life in a different country.
Backbase: What’s your best experience of Hack The Future?
Sima: I've learned to code from the best developers. I’ve learned how to give without expecting anything in return. Our mentors come to teach us on the weekends, in their free time. I met a lot of students in HYF that share the same ideas and perspective on life.
"My dreams and goals involve growing and continue to learn, take on additional responsibilities, and contribute as much value as possible to the team."
BB: What is your dream? And, how does Backbase help you in achieving it?
Sima: My dreams and goals involve growing and learning, taking on additional responsibilities, and contributing as much value as possible to the team. I love how Backbase emphasizes professional development, and it is a good environment to grow, learn and experience new things. I always get all the help that I need and all the inspiration to make a difference and to think outside the box.
BB: How is Backbase different from any other tech company
Sima: What made Backbase stand out for me was their contribution in providing a place for HYF to do their lessons, which I find very inspiring. It adds value to society. Moreover, such initiatives show that Backbase supports and believes in educational development by providing internship program and ensuring that we get all the help that we need. That really matters to me and it makes this company different from the others.
BB: Did the program help you integrate into Dutch society and how?
Sima: Yes, by creating a network (which can be challenging for newcomers), and by helping me to have equal opportunities in a Dutch labor market and eventually get a job.
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