Blog - Konexio - Konexio

Student Stories: A Successful Professional Conversion

25/2/2022

Meet Ewa, a special education teacher turned web development instructor for our Paris training programs

Please tell us about your background.
My professional background began as a specialized educator for autistic children, which is very different from coding. Within my SESSAD (structures of the medical-educational sector) I started to be interested in code. I didn't know how to code at all, but I joined a community called Ladies of Code. They are the ones who introduced me to web development and I liked it !

Shortly after I had back problems, the work doctor advised me to change jobs so as not to put my health in danger. I thought why not go into web development, just to see if I would really like it or not. I started to take small distance learning courses and I heard about Konexio. And a few months later, when there was the fourth DevWeb class, I could start my new studies.

Student Stories: Digital Livelihoods in Malawi

28/1/2022

Meet Stan, a Digital Inclusion Program graduate-turned-teacher

Konexio and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) launched the Digital Inclusion Program (DIP) in Malawi in 2019, training sixty refugee students in online freelancing. As a capacity builder, Konexio trains instructors, who in turn train the refugee students living in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp. The students, 29 percent of whom are women, earn on average $500 per month.

Now a DIP instructor, Stan joined the program’s inaugural cohort in fall 2019 and subsequently launched a successful freelancing career. Having studied engineering in his home country of the Congo, which he eventually fled due to insecurity, Stan held a bachelor’s degree in networks and telecommunications when he arrived alone in Malawi in 2017.

"It was essential that I learn to use a computer well", Saifoulaye, DigitAll learner

21/7/2021

Saifoulaye was a business law student in his home country before he moved to France. Having difficulty mastering digital tools, and well-aware of their importance in a world that is becoming more and more digitalized, he decided to join the DigitAll training on a friend's recommendation. Today, Saifoulaye has achieved digital autonomy and now works at Amazon.

"Thanks to DigiStart, I knew I could go on, that I was going to like it: I could make it my job," Mugilan, DigiStart learner

11/5/2021

Lost professionally after graduating from high school, Mugilan was looking for training that would allow him to access job opportunities. Following a discovery workshop led by Konexio, Mugilan embarked on the DigiStart training program and rediscovered a passion for computers that had been driving him since childhood. Today, Mugilan dreams of a stable life as a web developer and intends to continue in this direction.

"Our goal is to train 200 people by the end of the year", Axel Guibert, development manager in Bordeaux

22/4/2021

On the occasion of the launch of Konexio's DigitAll training in Bordeaux, Axel Guibert, our development manager in New Aquitaine, looks back at our spin-off project born in 2020. The DigitAll training course offers computer literacy courses to excluded people. Topics range from basic computer use to internet navigation, from word processing to spreadsheet mastery. Axel gives insight into why Konexio chose to expand in Bordeaux, and the program’s objectives and perspectives for the future.

"We started from scratch and were taught how to teach ourselves" Asma, DigiStart learner

16/4/2021

While an aspiring artist, Asma began to take an interest in web development on the advice of some friends. She attended a Konexio discovery workshop* and decided to enroll in the DigiStart training. Today, she is passionate about coding, which allows her to reconnect with the creativity that first inspired her to pursue art.

"My dream has always been to become an amazing developer", Lydia, Women In Digital student

6/4/2021

As a math teacher in Algeria, Lydia dreamt of becoming a web developer and writing code, code and more code. This dream motivated her to come to France and start the Women In Digital* program at Social Builder in partnership with Konexio. Her next goal? To pass on her passion for algorithms and, thanks to her training, her skills in code to others.

"There is definitely room for women", Ghizlane, Women In Digital student

6/4/2021

Ghizlane had been working in a paint factory for eight years when she decided she wanted to change her life and begin working in a field that had always interested her: tech! Social Builder's Women In Digital* training conducted in partnership with Konexio has allowed her to unleash her creativity and desire for new challenges. Despite the many preconceptions about tech professions being relatively closed to women, Ghizlane landed a 6-month internship at Castor and Pollux and plans on continuing in this field.

Moreover, she has plenty of ideas for growing the number of women in digital careers!

“Now I know what to do on a computer”, Saikou, learning DigitAll

28/1/2021

Entrepreneur and merchant in Guinea, Saikou wants to open an online store in France. To do this he must first be computer literate. He took our DigitAll Beginner Training to master the digital basics, on the advice of a friend. He now knows how to use a computer and decided to continue with the DigitAll intermediate training to continue and complete his project.

“We built relationships that allowed us to move forward together and to blossom” Hadjo, DigiTous Program

20/11/2020

Having been a math teacher for many years in Sudan, he had naturally wanted to continue his career when he arrived in France. But after resuming his mathematical studies in Paris, he finally decided to follow his dreams and become a web developer. Following the advice of a friend, Hadjo enrolled in a web developper class and today, as he nears the end of his classes, he already has big projects in the works.