Rails Girls Ljubljana Very Popular Among Participants

Rails Girls Ljubljana Very Popular Among Participants Ljubljana, 17 December Last weekend the first seminar in the international Rails Girls concept and community took place at Telekom Slovenije premises, aimed at encouraging women to enter the world of computer programming and internet co-creation. Over 70 participants and 30 mentors proved that in a relaxed atmosphere even absolute beginners can create their first web app.

The two-day workshop following the Rails Girls seminar concept was held for the first time in Slovenia between 14 and 15 December at Telekom Slovenije's premises in Ljubljana. The participants, aged 18 to 55, learned about basic terms and web app operations through practical workshops and, with the help of their mentors, set out to develop their first app for collecting ideas. They were very successful in doing so, as all of them completed the development of their app, some even adding extra functions. Their success in making the first steps encouraged many a participant to begin planning her own website. Mentors, all of them experienced web developers, were extremely satisfied with the response and the work of the participants. This encouraged the Rails Girls Ljubljana organizers to organize further regular informal meetings between participants and mentors, so that they can assist the participants on their new paths as developers, perhaps even as entrepreneurs. With the seminar deemed a success and the incredible interest in this type of training (almost 600 girls of all ages and professions applied), the organizers are already looking at options for holding another seminar in Ljubljana, as well as in other towns around Slovenia.

The Rails Girls Ljubljana seminar took place at the premises of Telekom Slovenije, a major supporter of the project, at Vojkova 78 in Ljubljana, and the event wrapped up on Saturday evening in the business accelerator TSstartup's office. The latter was also well represented at the workshops themselves, as members of three TSstartup teams participated as mentors. Other companies and associations also supported the Rails Girls Ljubljana seminar, including Zemanta, Silicijevi Vrtiki, and Infinium, while abec.net offered participants the option of purchasing domain names and hosting at discounted prices. Guests from neighboring Croatia and distant Finland, where the Rails Girls concept was born two years ago, also contributed as mentors.

Samo Oina, Marketing Director at Telekom Slovenije, was ecstatic at the response: Naturally we believed in Rails Girls Ljubljana, and supported it, but were still blown away by the response. We are extremely glad that almost 600 applicants expressed their interest, and the success and satisfaction of all participants is most encouraging. We believe that the experience gained and connections made went beyond casual socializing, but was more about bringing new know-how and tools for further activities and exploration of possibilities that the internet offers to individuals as well as entrepreneurs.

Alja Isakovi, head of Rails Girls Ljubljana and administrator of the TSstartup community, hopes that the participants will continue working on the skills they received here: This workshop did not transform the participants into developers, but it can be an excellent starting point for further projects. Some of them have already said that they will continue developing their own websites, while for some of them the workshop served as encouragement for further study of programming through various online guides. We are also glad that almost all the mentors also expressed the desire to mentor beginners again, which confirms that the workshop was a positive experience for all those involved, and that our goals were not only met, but surpassed at several levels.

Photos from the event are available on the Rails Girls Ljubljana's official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RailsGirlsLjubljana, which also features videos of the some more important lectures, available to everybody who did not manage to attend the workshop.

More information on Rails Girls Ljubljana is available online at railsgirls.com/ljubljana, while you can learn more about Telekom Slovenije and the TSstartup business accelerator at www.telekom.si and www.tsstartup.si, respectively.

LINK:	http://en.telekom.si/company/press-releases/article?aid=2492...
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