Kick-start of Web and Mobile Computing Bootcamp for RIT Croatia Freshmen students

It's Monday morning, August 23rd, 8 AM. Around 50 freshmen students of RIT's Web and Mobile Computing BSc program are sitting in our computer labs paying attention to their instructors: Dr Alan Mutka, Web and Mobile Computing Area Head, in Zagreb, and Dr Domagoj Tolić, in Dubrovnik.

For them, classes started one week before the actual start of the new academic year as they attend the Web and Mobile Computing Bootcamp 2021. "The goal of the bootcamp is to kick start students' knowledge and passion for programming and computational thinking", said Dr Mutka. Students will attend a week of interesting lectures on fundamentals of every programming language - whether Java, Python, C#, or JavaScript.

Not all incoming students have the same entry level of knowledge and experience for the program; some of them are well versed in programming, others not so much. "This is where the bootcamp kicks in", says Dr Tolić, "as we introduce the world of programming in a way which is beneficial to all students, including those without a prior experience in programming".

The four-year Web and Mobile Computing undergraduate program prepares students for perspective and sought-after professions in the areas of programming, web and mobile application design and database modelling. The curriculum and program standards are aligned with the WMC program at the main campus so our students obtain both American and Croatian degrees. In addition, what makes studying at RIT Croatia special is our focus on hands-on approach and experiential learning. A major part of this is our cooperative education which includes spending a minimum of 800 hours of mandatory internships at one of the local or international tech companies such as Async Labs, Bit4Bytes, Cinnamon Agency, Croz, Enum Software, Ericsson Nikola Tesla, HR Cloud, Infoart, Laus CC, Megatrend, mStart, Perpetuum Mobile, PHOBS, Spark Mostar, t-matix, Verso Altima Group, and ZIRA.

Students get immersed in a real business life situations really quickly, and thanks to the co-ops and the educational system of RIT, four years later not only are they ready for the business world, but a lot of them are already employed or have a clear idea about their IT careers.