“When we started Telerik Academy School a decade ago, we were confident that it would be useful, but that was the extent of it. We started timidly, with no grand expectations or a sense of what the long-term benefits would be. We also did not have the tools to measure success,” Georgiev says. “Gradually, with the development of the pro- grams and their geographical expansion in Bul- garia, we began to see firsthand that the acade- my can literally change people’s lives, especially in smaller places. There is no greater feeling than to ignite a spark in a child and direct them on the path to a promising profession,” he adds. Importantly, Alexander, Irina, and Dimitar are pursuing their dreams in their home country — as are 93% of the 1,850 academy graduates who
work in IT-related jobs, Global Metrics found. This is equal to about 5% of the IT workforce in 2021 in Bulgaria, an impressive result for a single program. At this pace, we have no doubt that, in ten years’ time, most of Bulgaria’s engineers will have passed through at least one Telerik Academy School program — and that we can expect some great things from them. Just look at where Al- exander, Irina, and Dimitar are in their twenties! Not only that, but the academy’s programs might just be part of the solution to Bulgaria’s brain drain.
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