We walk through the paved cities. We make use of some transportation to move from one place to another. We buy the food we need. We use our cell phones to communicate. We try to follow a work or student routine day by day. Don’t we forget something? With our capacity dulled by routine or habit, we rarely appreciate in detail everything that exists around us as a product of human ingenuity.
Regarding human ingenuity, what happens in this process of learning and unlearning in an environment where education is centralized and directed by the State? When we go to school from an early age, we are usually taught to think of the centralization of knowledge as a necessary good. The teacher is often seen as the only person who can provide specific knowledge. To make matters worse, we tend to think that the only way to learn something valuable for life is through schools, institutes, and universities that have the permission of the State to issue the respective degrees and/or certificates.
It is rarely suggested to undertake a reflective act regarding what it is to learn. The absence of the whys in the adult stage of life tells us that centralized education has done its job well. Knowledge as something finished is the general rule; self-learning and constant questioning are the exceptions.
Since information began to be decentralized through the Internet, what is known today as bootcamp emerged as a product of spontaneous order: an alternative to the old centralized educational model, where one learns to program computers taking into account the learner’s needs. Most Latin American public and private universities have yet to adapt to the changing and dynamic market of the technology sector. This fact makes bootcamps a more relevant and attractive option for people interested in learning computer programming in a short time. In addition, technology companies are crying out for talent. And to asses it, they do not rely on university degrees or official certificates.
This is how two unmet needs appear on the scene. On the one hand, people who, without a university degree, can learn in a short time and are looking for a job opportunity in the technology sector. On the other hand, technology companies focus on finding the best talent available.
The dynamism and the accelerated way of iterating in the technology sector have led the industry to consider the centralized education system obsolete for its changing requirements, and bootcamps have become the perfect allies to make this deficiency of centralized education by a State body more noticeable. In a bootcamp, one learns to be the master of their education process and develops in an environment similar to the workplace. This, in turn, makes the student whether they are willing to get involved in the digital industry.
In such an environment, according to the creative spirit of each person, one can assume values and responsibilities linked to their professional future. It seems an unreachable wonder just by describing it… But it is real and exists thanks to those spaces of freedom already available in some Latin American countries, which encourages us to think of a better future!
* Jackeline Isabel Puruaya is currently an Intern at Fundación Internacional Bases
Source: We Are Innovation
