University of Birmingham Boot Camps

I enrolled into the course without an iota of knowledge about coding or data analysis but considering how determined I was, I knew I would make it through. I must be honest, the journey was a very though one but I had one of the best experience of my life and all to the thanks to the amazing instructional team (Amro and Amritya). Also, the instructional materials were top notch and the course, even though a bit pacy, was well organised. What helped me the most was the projects. There were four of them in total and they were organized in a manner that helps one understands the underlying concepts of the course. The course assignments accelerated my learning and having  a career service department who prepares you for the world to come was an icing on the cake.  Read less

I can say that it was the best decision I made during one of the most difficult periods of my life. In the beginning, I had no expectations from this magnificent adventure that I was directed to a Facebook ad. For the first time in my life, I responded to a Facebook ad. How confident should I be? How useful would it be? 

While all these questions were storming through my mind, I realized the seriousness of the task when I saw a strict course preparation program. At first, I thought my plan would give me some time and try to learn, if I felt like I was going to fail I thought I would drop it halfway or find out later. As a matter of fact, I was faced with this feeling a little after the first quarter of the course. But learning is a process and thanks to my friends and of course my amazing instructors/tutors, I got rid of these negative thoughts and focused on learning more. It was not an easy process. While I was thinking that it would only take me 3 days a week and it would be easy, I found myself among the instructors who were always full of determination to teach, and I found myself learning this between 16:30 pm -23:00 pm every evening for 24 weeks. 

Humanity has not yet reached the stage where it can swallow information like a pill. Therefore, if you think that someone will teach you this without any effort, you are wrong. This was the behaviour I saw in those who made bad comments anyway. But if someone like me who has learning difficulties, dyslexia, whose native language is not English and is afraid to ask questions can be someone who has made programs about the subjects included in the course content today, I would say give yourself a chance. I can't put into words the best 24 weeks of my life. So I think you should try it. 

Of course, there will be parts that are not for you. Very easy. Continuing is always an option. When I felt most hopeless, when I sent a message to my instructor/tutors Suraj, Kenneth, Cillian and my personal Mentor Madeexa and asked for help, all my problems were resolved regarding my learning process. Besides, we had an amazing class and very hardworking friends. When I reached out to them throughout the course and while developing projects with them, I learned a lot from them. The fact that this course is being held under the name of The University of Birmingham also removed all the doubts I felt at first.

I would like to thank everyone who prepared this course for us and for this feeling of learning and success in this difficult covid period. Without forgetting, I would like to thank Maimuna and all my project teams, who always supported me in all the mishaps I experienced. I hope everything will be fine for everyone. Read less

Can i first start by saying how amazing the instructional staff are.

The course started with a few problems with people setting ssh keys up, I had already done mine as i actaully did the pre work before the course start. 
The team was friendly and helpful and always put in the time for the class. Extra classes every night which was amazing but massive strain on my life as i work full time and then coming home to go straight into class. 
I choose to go to the extra classes to help me progress further although these are optional i highly recommend you go to them to help yourself in the long run.
I would of loved to have code along classes too but with a class of 40 strong at the start i understand why this wasnt a possibility as everyone codes and learns at different speeds. 
Most of the classes was the instructional staff showing us methods and ways to search it ourselves using "stack overflow" which is super helpful as thats what happens in the real world of coding. Of course the showed us how to code, sometimes even picking class members to "drive" with guidance. Thats abit nerv racking, i think you actaully forget how to use a computer when your asked haha.
Alot of the class didn't have there camera's on which lessers there interactions with them and they got asked alot less questions for obvious reasons. So another recommendation is to have your camera on as much as you possibly can.  

Im now currently on the job hunt the careers person was lovely, hard to get hold of at times and they was transitioning to a new role leaving us in the learch for a couple of weeks when we needed help searching for jobs, polishing our cvs and online presence. 

Demo Day kinda felt like it was promising so much and failed to deliver myself and my group put in all the hard work and graft and only presented to 4 people 1 of which was an instructor of the other cohort. Although he was lovely and gave us helpful feedback 
would of loved to see all these businesses that was promised when starting like BT, Gymshark ect. 

Overall happy with the course, 
FYI theres a scheme i found out after starting the course that you can get it for half the price so look into that before paying the full amount like me. Read less

Pro

1. Great technical material from Trinity collage 
2. It was nice to see converting coding to quality coding 
3. Grateful to Meedaxa for his support on our 1:1 seasons, a great tutor, highly professional and a very knowledgeable individual. Explains things in an easy and understandable way and I think this is his superpower. 
4. Student Success Manager (Mai) a very positive and supportive individual. 
   
   

Con

1. 1. Too many people for a coding bootcamp. It started with 40 people and ended with 24 (still a lot for this type of bootcamp). My first question, in the call with Gregory Mazzella, before deciding to register for this course was: How many students are there? The reply was 10-15 and it still felt a lot at that time. I decided to continue when I saw 40 because I trusted your experience and professionalism. 
   2. When I think of the word bootcamp it gives me the impression that it should be more students hands on practice after explaining core concepts, but this never happened in our classes, except Projects. It was mostly the instructor coding and spending a lot of time figuring out the solution himself; this has resulted in spending non-productive hours in the class - an approach that makes sense for an overcrowded class.
   3. There was no control over the class, for example: No order when asking questions, frequent situations of people overlapping each other when speaking or not respecting an order. Basically it was impossible to ask a question, as you will always be interrupted and sometimes in an aggressive way.
   4. Instructor focused on helping and replying only to 3-4 (job seeking) people in the class which made me loose interest on the course and search udemy courses. This added extra hours spent to understand class material.
   5. Time per class was not always well-organised. If the classes were well-organised before hand, there would have been no need for so many extra classes on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; for example the Friday session of 1 h could have been perfectly integrated on Thursday and the homework review of 1 h on Tuesday. To add to that,  most of the recent classes were starting 30-45 min late, I didn’t appreciate this as it was disrespecting our time without giving us notice beforehand.
   6. I appreciated some extra classes but the frequency of them made this bootcamp more time consuming (not in a productive way) especially for a full time working individual. I understand that the extra classes were not mandatory, but yet on those classes remaining unexplained material from mandatory classes was  explained.
   7. The instructor lacks listening skills and is bias oriented. 
      I started this bootcamp with plenty of enthusiasm but unfortunately I ended waiting forward to its end.

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I am one day away from completing this course and to say I've had one of the best experiences learning how to code would be an understatement. From start to end, I have enjoyed every single second of this boot camp.

I am still blown away by the commitment of the instructional staff (Suraj, Kenneth and Cillian), in putting in so much time and effort with each and every student to ensure they are getting the best advice and education from the course. No problem is ever to big for them to help with. They listened when we were struggling and guided us on the right path to help us understand and get a better grasp of coding. I am forever in their debt for thier knowledge, wisdom and patience.

The course can be very intense at times, and at the very start of the course, I was feeling overwhlemed by learning so much, so quickly. But it was thanks to the instructional staff with their persistant support and help that I was able to pull through and understand how everything worked. I cannot rate them highly enough or thank them enough for what they have done for me. 

Even as we come to finish the course, they are helping with finding work and reviewing our CV's and applications to ensure we have the best chance possible at finding work as web developers. They truly want the best for us and that is greater than anything. 

Everything we have learned has been up to date and relevant to the tech world around us now, and the instructors spent extra time on the most relevant parts of web development which are in demand in the tech industry to ensure we were as prepared as we can be. 

Overall, this has been such a wonderful experience and I would recommend it highly to anyone who wants to get into coding. It's a wonderful experience with wonderful tutors and instructors who want the best from you and they will ensure, when you finish, that you are ready to start your tech career. Read less

I stumbled across an ad for the bootcamp on Instagram whilst i was studying computer science at university and decided i'd give it a go, it complimented the course i was doing at the time so why not?

Upon beginning the course the first thing i relly took note of was just how approachanle and welcoming the staff were, it was great! The teaching and support staff made the experience 100% more enjoyable and went above and beyond in terms of the help and guidance they provided. I felt as though i could come to them with any issues i was dealing with at the time, regardless of whether those issues had anything to do with the course or not. 

The course teaches a very broad range of technologies and topics that are taught from the ground up to provide a solid basis for future development. Personally, i found this to be the most beneficial aspect of the course as it meant i wasn't just learning code, i was learning to understand the underlying concepts that are present across any programming language which has put me in an incredible position to be able to understand new technologies that weren't taught during the course so much more quickly.

Overall, i would wholeheartedly encourange anyone that is thinking of starting the course to do it. I have made friends, developed social skills, and got a job in an ever evolving industry thanks to this course. Read less

I went into this bootcamp as a complete beginner, with no experience using HTML, CSS or Javascript. Never could I have imagined I would feel proficient using the aforementioned languages or learning how to use React Js, Node Js, MVC models etc and developing fully functioning apps 6 months later. 

It was a really challenging course, especially since I was working an equally demanding full time job at the time. However, I did receive a lot of support from our teaching and online tutor staff, fellow peers and Student Success Manager which helped me graduate with great results. They also provide a dedicated career service team that would help you prep for jobs after the course. 

Although I am currently not in a developer role, I still use the skills I have learnt in my current role and I feel confident that I can move into a developer role in the future. Overall, I will definitely recommend the course to anyone looking to break into the Tech industry.  Read less

The bootcamp I participated in was a very rewarding experience. I faced many challenges throughout the course and it is quite demanding but you definitely come out the other end better. I now use my role regularly in my day job and feel it has bettered me. I’d even feel comfortable walking into a Software Developer role, but for me it was about being able to freelance. 

The staff on the course are great and supportive. They take on all the feedback given and adapt to each cohort. 

I’d 100% recommend to anyone who has an interest in becoming a developer. No matter your age, or any other characteristic. The course is definitely workable for anyone with any level of knowledge.  Read less

Terrible. I PAID £7000 for a online cyber security boot camp. Filled out all of the forms and get to the end of the course and they say I am bit even registered and get 0 help from any one after spending literally days and weeks trying emails phone numbers, you get zero response. Zero help. They literally have scammed me out of this money and spent 6 months doing hard work studying for exams that was totally pointless.

I still have not got any update on this nearly 2 months later! AVOID at all costs when it comes to online courses with this "UNIVERSITY" they work with a American company and as soon as you sign the contract and take on the debt they will not even care about getting your certificate. And make it impossible for you to get even though that is the whole point if the course. Pleaese stay away I don't want my worst enemy to go through the stress and hardship they have directly caused! Read less

The course as a whole was intensive as we've learned a lot of a new skills in a span of almost 6 months.
But keeping in mind that intensive is in that case positive, i really enjoyed learning the different aspects of data science, specially that it touched on Machine Learning.
The instructural team was amazing, friendly, helpful and persistent.
Overall it was a great investment from my end but as i mentioned to my colleagues, taking this course doesn't mean you'll be a professional, it's step one in every student's path to success. Read less

UBHM Data Bootcamp for Data Analytics is a fantastic journey into a new career. It starts assuming very little knowledge from a student and over the course of 6 months develops all necessary skills to start applying for entry level jobs in the field and continue developing yourself in a direction that you want. Bootcamp offers lessons 3 times a week, office hours, weekly 1-on-1 tutor sessions, 24/7 student assistance on Slack. So no matter how challenging or demanding the course might get, not at a single point in time students will feel helpless. It is a great learning opportunity that is well worth the price.  Read less

A very thorough course! I would recommend it to anyone interested but be warned that it really is a challenge to stay on top of the learning as there is so much content. As a co-habiting parent working part-time through the course, I did manage to complete every piece of homework to a good standard, but it did have an impact on family life and my partner has had to be very supportive with time and earnings. Also the more you know at the start of the course - spreadsheets and some coding for instance - the less daunting the topics covered will be. 

The tutors have been brilliant. There were many tutors and they were all very knowledgable and eager to help, often going outside the course content and demonstrating some interesting alternative methods to solve problems. The careers assistance has been excellent, providing a structured approach to transforming the course into applicable skills, and at time of writing I am still working on feedback from them on my online presence (github, linked in, &c.). In terms of course administration, things were generally very smooth, with frequent announcements and contact. There was some confusion around dates, as some key dates changed during the course. Read less

I stumbled on the bootcamp course after coming up short on interviews for my desired roles. With that I set my goal for the bootcamp at learning just what I needed; VBA scripting and SQL. Everything else was a plus that sounded nice to have at the beginning.


Today, I have taken a cue gotten at orientation to write down where I am now and comparing that with where I was at the beginning of the program. I cannot believe how far I have come. The level of technicality I have amassed with everything else I didn’t know I even needed, like python, machine learning, web etc, have seen me becoming the go-to person on issues that ordinarily wouldn’t get my second thought amongst my circle. A data analyst emerged from this bootcamp in 24weeks!


This program is intense (do not believe what you see online about needing a few hours weekly only to review)! You’ll need to give this full attention for 24weeks; every day, every weekend if you plan to graduate. So, plan and book your vacations for later. You’ll need it after the bootcamp. Hug your family members tighter and longer now, because you'll get lost in your coding and web scraping homework.


However, as intense as this program is, everyone involved in the program understands this and will do everything to get you to the finish line.  Admissions Advisor – sets you up with the best info on scholarships and funding plans  Instructional team – they carry each one along. You would never feel like you are lost in the crowd.  Outside of class also, they are very prompt at answering any questions you might have. Tutors – Don’t we all need the extra hours and new perspective (my advice, use them!) SSM – as good as having your own school approved/recommended therapist and accountability partner. The invisible graders – they give the best feedback. You are never at a loss on what you didn’t do right. You make the mistakes just the one time.


On a final note, don’t drop off during python week no matter how ‘black’ (terminal screen) it gets. There is an amazing rainbow waiting on you with pandas if you make it there. All the best!

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I honestly think enrolling in the course was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  

The instructional team is amazing and their love for coding AND teaching made this a very pleasant experience! Suraj, Kenneth and Cillian along with the tutors, Ben and Meeda, did their best to make sure that everybody understands the concepts that are being taught. Apart from that, we would have weekly extra-sessions to either go through the course materials, review the homework or gain some more in-depth knowledge in some of the technologies. 

Working on the bi-monthly projects was an awesome experience and I was lucky to team-up with amazing people.

I can say that I have not only learned some new skills but actually got a career out of this bootcamp and a new passion and hobby.

I'm not going to lie, it is hard, you have to actually be invested into it and put in the time. But it's definitely worth it.

Again, I am really grateful that I had such amazing Instructor, TA's and Tutors, they taught us how to code but also how to love coding. Read less

I decided to apply for this bootcamp, when I saw an advert on Facebook. I didn't think too much into it but I wanted to upskill myself in a different field and thought tech would be an ideal field to go into. 

The application process itself was what I felt abit salesy, which after completing the course I can't understand why it was a pushy pitchy, as the course is absolutely brilliant. The initial hard sell and eagerness put me off and I was abit apprehensive at first (I actually rang Uob to find out if this was a scam or genuine)  but after meeting the teachers and the class, I was so glad I applied and was at complete ease.

The course itself is quite intense and you have to put in alot of hours and hard work as homework is given every week - so it is very easy to fall behind. However, the support provided is absolutely incredible. 

You're given a 121 tutor best suited for your learning style which is SO helpful. The teachers provide office hours and extra lessons for additional support to help on areas where you feel your struggling. The amount of technical and emotional support that's given in this course is something I have never experienced before. 
The teachers genuinely push you to be at your best and at any point if you feel like giving up, they are there to get you back on track. That is something money can't really buy and you won't get in other courses. That's the main reason I believe I have improved so much and have become confident in coding. Skills is one thing, but emotional support and getting the best out of a person is something only a few teachers can do and I can honestly say Suraj is an absolute brilliant teacher  like no other.

Like I've  mentioned before, the teachers are so supportive and always there to help which is what they are there for but Kenneth and Cillian are the type of teachers where when they say "no question is a stupid question" they truly mean it. They genuinely want to help and guide you and show you the correct way of doing things that are essential in the tech world. They bring out the absolute best in you that you didn't even know you had. 

The support doesn't stop there. There's workshops for career development,  121 interview prep and cv checking. You have an weekly update on the modules you have learnt and what's to come every week, which is nice to see and surveys are done every week to ensure we all get the best out of our learning. 

The senior student manager (Mai) is such a supportive person. Her words of wisdom really help motivate you as well as her continuous support. At one point I wanted to change my tutor as I didn't think the learning style was best for me, after speaking to her about my concerns she partnered me up with someone who was a better fit for the way I learn. 
The tutor I had was Meedaxa and I can only say good things about him. He helped me become confident in coding when I was at the point of wanting to give up. Mai understood what I needed, took on my feedback and found a solution to my worries. What else can you ask for? 

Overall, I have a lot of good things to say about this course and have enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The only negative I would say is that I underestimated how much of your time the bootcamp takes up... however it's not wasted time when your learning.  Read less

Having spent the last 20 years raising my family, and then trying to return to the workplace, I found all my skills were out of date.  I didn't have a technical background, but have always enjoyed creativity and problem solving, so web development was suggested to me as a possible path to take.  I came to this boot camp pretty much from a standing start, but have loved the challenge it gave me.  I think it is fair to say it was an emotional rollercoaster at times, ranging from exasperation when trying to grasp concepts that were so new to me, to times of elation such as when I successfully fixed stubborn bugs.  

The teaching and support staff were incredibly patient with me, answering my numerous questions, of which there were many!  So much information to take in over the length of the course, but a good basis for further development.  The student success manager was lovely, and always helped to put things into perspective.  The careers director had his work cut out with me, as my confidence was pretty low having been out of the workplace for so long, but he was able to give me some good pointers, which helped with interviews.  The comradery between the other students in the group was a great source of support as well as entertainment at times too!

The biggest thing I take away from this course, is that it really is possible to completely retrain, even as you approach 50 years of age, and the only barriers are those you create in your own mind. 

This course was the first step on the rung of the ladder to employment, and I am so pleased now to be moving up that latter as an apprentice software engineer.  


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Do you want to make your dream of being a software engineer a reality? If you're ready to put in the hard work–I mean hours of studying, learning, debugging and reading each week–then take a leap of faith and sign up to The University of Birmingham's Coding Bootcamp and you will realise that dream! 

What makes the course special, other than its best-in-class and market-relevant curriculum, is its teaching staff and support team as they have the drive, passion and expertise to help you go from a zero to full stack developer. 

My whole experience from the initial application process, invitation to the women in tech scholarship, completing the course, being awarded the outstanding student award and being approached for two job opportunities before i completed the course, to now working with BT has all been more than I could have hoped for. I was very hesitant of bootcamps and thought a CS degree was the way to go but i couldn't afford to leave my full time job and go back to full time study; i parked the thought and completed some free online courses but became stagnant in my learning and motivation. After hearing more success stories and the rise of companies employing bootcamp students i knew it was time to take a leap of faith and i'm so glad i did! 

Let's start with the first-class instructor, Andy, and TA's Steven and Ben, who are real working professionals with years of industry experience and gifted with the best teaching style that really help you to grasp even the most complex of topics – they have been instrumental in my success and taught me everything i know to be job-ready. Then you have the wonderful, bright and determined student success manager, Mai, who nurtured me throughout the course, helping me battle the constant 'imposter syndrome' and help manage my work / study schedule to succeed and complete the course – you always want a 'Mai' in your corner! Working behind the scenes is the amazing careers director, Dan, who builds relationships and interest with employers such as GymShark, CapGemini to name a few; Dan's advice and guidance during my interview process with GymShark and BT was on-point! Lastly, if you're lucky enough to have fellow students / peers like i did, then you get to share the highs and lows, and learnings with like-minded people. 

Overall, a fab culture, real-life projects and learnings, staff and experience! Worth every penny and hour!   Read less

Taking the leap of faith and signing up for this bootcamp has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has completely transformed my life. Transitioning from a life science background I had no idea what to expect. What lead me to change paths was my passion for design, problem solving and an interest in learning new skills. Since I had no experience in tech I was exposed to something completely different and the learning curve was huge but totally worth it. I am also a mother and finding a balance between learning to code through the bootcamp and my personal life has also been a challenge in and of itself. During my time at the bootcamp I learned both frontend and backend languages and technologies, I built multiple applications and worked on group projects. I was able to discover which part of web development I am passionate about and that is frontend, and now I am honoured to gain my first tech role as a Junior Frontend Engineer at Gymshark. None of this would have been possible without the incredible team (Andy, Ben, Steven, Mai and Daniel) at the University Of Birmingham Coding Bootcamp. Each member of staff played a significant role in supporting me through this process and helping get a great job.  Read less

Production line was my entire experience, but I took free python course and decided to carry on with bootcamp as most junior devs were talking about it - thats how I found it. From a person that recently started working as full stack dev I can say that the curriculum is up to date. I was taught the most relevant technologies in the industry. It would take much, much more time without all the good people that we had around though. Our instructor was an experienced person and TA always helped me to find different point of view on the problem. Weekly assignments can be difficult but there is tutor as well to help. Thanks to Career services I was able to polish my resume and portfolio and get my first role in software.
Being a professional was my goal and I was able to achieve it through bootcamp. I stopped questioning my future at work and I can introduce plans that were delayed because of production industry instability. Read less