Author: Andriy Bilious, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and the CEO of IT company Uitware
In March 2024, we launched the Azure University Bootcamp in Lviv, Ukraine, an innovative 10-week program designed to provide students with comprehensive training for Microsoft Azure, covering everything, from fundamental concepts to advanced topics such as AI and data services. This initiative was a collaborative effort between Uitware and four leading Ukrainian universities, aimed to offer students practical, hands-on experience and essential knowledge, directly from industry experts and Microsoft professionals.
As a result 85 students successfully graduated the bootcamp and earned an additional 6 academic credits for specific subjects at their universities. The project now holds the potential to be repeated on a larger scale in the next academic year.
How the Idea was born
The idea for the project originated from my dream where students received such an outstanding education with real-world experience that they could excel in internships at top tech companies and create incredible inventions. Although it seemed like a fantasy, I believe that all great things start as dreams. I have always valued social responsibility and wanted to create an educational initiative with a genuine impact. Observing the big opportunity in merging academic training with industry expertise, I decided to act. The launch of the Azure University Bootcamp was more than just an event; it was a meticulously planned and executed initiative that brought real-world industry expertise to students.
Behind the Scenes of the Azure University Bootcamp Launch
While the brief description of the Azure University Bootcamp’s launch may highlight its success, it hardly conveys the extensive preparations required to bring it to fruition. Here is a closer look behind the scenes:
Program Development: The Azure University Bootcamp program was meticulously crafted, blending Microsoft Learn materials with practical workshop lectures. Together with Universities we designed a curriculum to give students not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical experience based on IT industry best practices. Unlike traditional university subjects, our program covered cloud concepts, software development in the cloud, security, and cloud data concepts.
Negotiations with Universities: Finalizing the program and the allocation of university credits began in December 2023. It took around two months to secure agreements with the four universities. I was very content that all four institutions — Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv Polytechnic National University, IT Step University, and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv— were open to cooperation and provided representatives to facilitate communication with students. Ukrainian universities still have courses based on legacy technologies and other challenges, but I’ve encountered huge desire for making changes.
Securing Speakers: One of the most challenging aspects was securing well-known speakers, such as Microsoft MVPs, Ukrainian IT gurus (Orest Lavriv and Leonid Chetverikov) and Microsoft employees. I’m particularly glad that most MVPs (Stas Lebedenko, Taras Kloba, Anton Boyko) I contacted via LinkedIn agreed to participate, even though I hadn’t known them personally. Coordinating with Microsoft specialists proved to be more complex due to different time zones and their busy schedules, including experts like Sarah Young (Australia), Christoffer Noring (UK), and Pablo Nunel Lopes (Brazil).
Student Engagement: Attracting students required a multi-channel strategy. We utilized official university channels, underground student chats, IT associations, and personal contacts.
Students’ Impressions
Uniting multiple universities for making Azure University Bootcamp program was a challenging yet rewarding aspiration, especially when reading students’ testimonials:
Vadym Zastavniy, student of 3rd course, IT Step University
“I attended the bootcamp to enhance my technical skills and gain practical experience in the latest Microsoft technologies. Valuable insights into cloud computing, software development best practices, and hands-on experience with Microsoft’s development tools will help me create more efficient and scalable software solutions, stay updated with industry standards, and improve my problem-solving capabilities in real-world projects.”
Vikoriia Tomchakova, student of 2nd course, Lviv Polytechnic National University
“As a student about to embark on my career path, I attended a bootcamp to gain foundational insights into the workings of the IT industry, with a specific focus on cloud services. The comprehensive overview covered essential aspects like security, data management, storage, deployment, automation, and AI. This newfound knowledge will significantly enhance my studies and work, particularly in the realm of data services and AI, which present exciting opportunities.”
Kostelnyi Dmytro-Andrii, student of 3rd course, Lviv Polytechnic National University
“I am keen on exploring cloud services, particularly Azure, and their implementation methods, akin to on-premises infrastructure but in the cloud. During a bootcamp, I gained insights into Azure features for cost estimation, security, and common architecture solutions. Additionally, I delved into concepts like automated Azure resource provisioning, Agile practices with Azure DevOps, LLM internals, and data transformation for analysis. This bootcamp has motivated me to evolve as a DevOps specialist, with an eye toward roles in machine learning and data science.”
Shnyra Dmytro student of 4th course, Lviv Polytechnic National University
“I joined the bootcamp because I am considering the opportunity to work in the field of IT Healthcare, I considered the position of DevOps and wanted to get acquainted with cloud services in more detail. The most valuable information for me is a basic skills to work with the Azure service and with all its tools and after bootcamp, in my opinion, Azure is one of the most convenient for work cloud services. This information gave me a general understanding of cloud technologies. It will help me advance in my career in the future and grow up from a system administrator to a DevOps engineer. In general, I can only note the positive impressions of the camp, the only thing I would like to ask for access to watching lectures at least for a limited time in the future because I very often did not have time for a lecture after work/lessons or came too late.”
The Uitware Azure Bootcamp was a significant step to unite universities and leveraging the expertise of Microsoft professionals. We provided students with a unique opportunity to gain valuable technical knowledge and practical experience through hands-on labs. With the program results and feedback from students I am inspired to continue this initiative and expand its reach to involve more students to achieve their full potential. I hope this story will inspire someone to follow their dreams and make an impact that matters!
