DAI Hosts Launch of New Coding School in Montgomery County

February 01, 2018

Code Partners, a new coding academy based in Montgomery County, Maryland, held its official launch event at DAI headquarters this week. The academy is designed to train the next generation of software and web developers to meet the hiring needs of local business and organizations. Based on the nationally recognized curriculum developed by Code Fellows in Seattle, Code Partners will teach motivated students to become full-stack web or software developers in 20 weeks. After completing the curriculum, 95 percent of students have been hired within six months.

DAI and United Solutions co-founded Code Partners to help develop the technical skills of the local workforce and make Maryland a new center of innovation in the country.

“Code Partners will be a talent resource for the private sector and government in the county and the region,” said Doug McLean, Vice President for Partnerships at DAI. David Nguyen, founder and CEO of United Solutions added, “Our goal is to change the face of coding by building a diversified group of programmers committed to innovation.”

Mitch Robertson, Vice President of Code Fellows, traveled from Seattle for the event and provided the keynote address to the audience of local businesses and DAI and United leadership.

“We stand at a revolutionary moment in time. Through the power of code education, we are able to offer the skills that give anyone the opportunity to find rewarding careers in technology regardless of race, gender, geography, or socioeconomic status, and Code Fellows is excited to be a part of this movement,” said Robertson. “When I first connected with the teams at DAI and United Solutions it was clear that our missions and visions were aligned. I knew we had to find a way to partner together and their entrepreneurial spirit was a big part of making Code Partners happen.”

Robertson also highlighted Code Fellows’ success in linking graduates to jobs at Amazon in Seattle. Montgomery county recently made the shortlist for Amazon’s second headquarters.

Code Partners will offer classes for students with a range of coding experience, and accommodates both new entrants to the workforce as well as career changers. Initial courses cover HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, with advanced courses planned for Python and ASP.NET. Code Partners will hold its first Code 101: Intro to Software Development & Careers in Tech courses on February 24 and March 10 at DAI offices in Bethesda.

Bobby Jefferson, from left, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for DAI Global Health; David Nguyen, founder and CEO of United Solutions; Doug McLean, Vice President for Partnerships at DAI; and Jean Gilson, Senior Vice President of Strategy and IT at DAI, at the Code Partners launch event.