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Welcome to the MigraCode Volunteer Guide
In this GitBook, you can find all the information about volunteering at MigraCode Barcelona, a tech academy for refugees and migrants.
Migracode acts as a bridge between the demand for skilled people in the tech sector and people with a migration background who are eager to work in the tech industry. Through free education, we teach HTML/CSS, JavaScript, React, Node JS, Databases and Soft Skills through our 8-month coding bootcamp, to anyone with a migration background and limited access to the labour market.
At MigraCode we believe, as we have always done, that finding professional programmers to deliver our course best prepares our students for professional life by giving them the most up to date knowledge and helping them build a network of developers for when they graduate. That also goes for improving their soft and employability skills: we think that people that work as recruiter or in HR are those who are best suited to prepare our students with the job search and preparations.
Therefore, our project is for 99% powered by volunteers like YOU. That's why we are super happy with your interest in our program and we hope you find this guide useful to start volunteering with us!
- You will contribute to improving the lives of others
- You will become a better expert of your own craft by teaching
- You will be exposed to different cultures and different ways of thinking & working
- You will become a part of Migracode’s professional network, including tech Meetups, companies, NGO’s and other professionals
- You will get first-hand experience in working in the NGO sector
Broadly seen, there are two categories of volunteering opportunities in MigraCode Barcelona: one for people with a technical/coding background, and one for people with a HR/Training/Recruitment background.
Make sure to read our Code of Conduct, Safeguarding protocols and reporting methods before starting at MigraCode.
Simple. have a look at the different volunteer roles, and for each one you can see how to start with it. In general, all communication and sign-ups go through our Slack workspace, although now and then you will also receive volunteer opportunities by email as a MigraCode volunteer.
These are our main channels that are applicable to our volunteers and where you have access to:
- #general General news messages for everyone that is part of MigraCode (students, volunteers, staff)
- #volunteers The channel where we share useful information or any request with all our volunteers - this is not visible to students.
- #0-module-name (i.e. #2-javascript) These are channels about specific modules where instructors can discuss anything related to that specific module and to prepare classes. These are not visible to students.
- Class channels (i.e. #jan2021-1-en) The one we use to share information during the (online) classes - this is also the place to start in case you want to join a class.
- #support-coding This is where students can ask for help with their homework for the web development course. Feel free to reply to any questions you think you can help the student with.
- #support-it This is where students can ask for help with their homework for the IT Support and Security course. Feel free to reply to any questions you think you can help the student with.
- #support-employability This is where students can ask for help to improve their CV, get help with their job interview, etc. Feel free to reply to any questions you think you can help the student with.
To help students directly through Slack in these channels, read more info about the Slack volunteer roles.
- #random Jokes, memes and nice articles or videos!
- #job-offers-senior Here you can find job opportunities selected for senior developers, aimed at our volunteer community (students are not in this channel). Feel free to share opportunities as well.
As we have many volunteers, it is difficult for us to micro-manage (even though we want to). We therefore promote a proactive and independent attitude. This means that you can enter our Slack whenever you want, and just start replying to student's requests in the different channels by offering your knowledge where needed. You can also join the classes whenever you can and offer a helping hand over there. If you feel lost, please reach out to Vincent or Ali!
As we are only working with adult-students, we don't have specific guidelines how to interact with them - see them as your fellow-colleagues! Still it's important to read our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding protocols, see above.
However, some students may struggle with social interaction due to (for instance) cultural differences, so try to be understanding and always keep in mind some students may have very different backgrounds than yourself. Just be open and always encourage them to be proactive and ask for help if needed!
Our program, our syllabus and even this guide are under continuous construction: we need your feedback and ideas for improvement! If you have general points, feel free to contact @Vincent van Grondelle on Slack. If it's about technical side of our program, drop a message at @Ali Raza Ashraf on Slack.
Last modified 3mo ago