The Iron Yard coding school and Innovate Arkansas will partner to offer $30,000 in scholarships to applicants in the school’s front-end and back-end engineering sessions set to begin in February.
The Iron Yard has coding schools in locations across the U.S. and in London, England. It opened its Little Rock campus last year. Innovate Arkansas is a program of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and Winrock International and is responsible for bringing the Iron Yard school to Arkansas.
Leaders in the state’s tech startup ecosystem believe the development of local tech talent is essential to growing that ecosystem, and that the inclusion of the Iron Yard and other coding educational opportunities in the state are crucial to spurring that growth. In addition to the emergence of coding opportunities in the state, Arkansas has received national attention for its commitment to requiring computer science education in all its high schools.
For the sessions that begin in February, the Iron Yard and IA will offer 12 scholarships in the amounts of $6,000 (two students); $3,000 (four students); and $1,000 (six students). The Iron Yard and Winrock paired to offer scholarships for the school’s first Little Rock cohort.
“Little Rock’s tech sector is booming and so are the opportunities for junior-level developers,” said Mary Dunlap, Iron Yard campus director in Little Rock, in a news release. “This scholarship is a fantastic opportunity for anyone who wants to launch a career in tech, and we are so thankful to have an amazing organization like Innovate Arkansas support Little Rock’s future developers.”
Iron Yard courses entail an “immersive” 12-week program that’s been likened to a boot camp. Graduates from the inaugural Little Rock class found jobs at local companies including PrivacyStar, Perks, Mass Enthusiasm and DNT Media.
“Encouraging technology-based innovation is key to empowering communities and helping create jobs in Arkansas,” said Tom Dalton, Innovate Arkansas director. “That’s why our partnership with the Iron Yard to provide scholarships for aspiring coders is so important and will help develop the talented, creative programming professionals that are so in demand both in our community and around the world.”
The scholarship application is available here. Those applying should already have been accepted to the Iron Yard’s classes beginning Feb. 15. According to the release, applicants will need to submit a 250-word essay explaining “what he or she would want to create for Little Rock if they had the skills to build software.” Submissions, accepted through Feb. 5 at 11:59 p.m., will be judged by Iron Yard and IA officials.
Scott Ferguson, a graduate of the first Little Rock class, said the Iron Yard/Winrock scholarship made his career change possible.
“There were potential employers visiting with us regularly during the course, and now I have a great career as a software developer with one of those companies,” he said.
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