Last Friday, together with Bialystok University of Technology and the Career Development and Alumni Relations Office, we organised a workshop for students titled “Reaguj na jawie, czyli podstawy programowania w JavaScript i wprowadzenie do biblioteki React”. To provide the best possible learning environment and maximise knowledge transfer, we limited the workshop to 10 participants. The event sparked significant interest among those eager to attend, leading to quick registration closure. The workshop was led by Ada and Ela, Infinity Group’s talented Front-End Developers — you had the opportunity to read about them in a recent blog post. What was happening that day in the building of the Faculty of Computer Science? Read the article to find out.
The workshop objectives
The participants’ challenge was to create an Instagram-like app using JavaScript and the React framework. To make it easier for them, Ela created a special guide in the form of a website, which included important terms and stage by stage descriptions for each assignment. Initially, the girls explained some key concepts related to the workshop, although it turned out that many of the students already had experience with them. Once the theory was covered, attendees delved into practical exercises — the first step was to design an option for adding likes under pictures. After tackling this task, it was time for the React components, based on which participants created comments and simulated user logins.
During the workshop, students crafted and implemented the application on their personal computers. This hands-on experience not only equipped them with specialised knowledge but also provided tangible evidence of their skills. Such practical achievements can become invaluable assets in their future programming portfolios.
What did the students work on?
JavaScript is a versatile programming language, crucial for interactive web applications. When combined with libraries and frameworks such as React, it transforms into an excellent tool for building modern user interfaces. React, as a popular JavaScript framework, introduces an innovative approach based on components — modular user interface elements that are both easy manageable and reusable. This allows developers to create more readable, scalable and maintainable code.
Participants’ experiences
Following the workshop, attendees were asked to complete a brief questionnaire sharing their feedback. The majority of them were second-year students from various courses within the Faculty of Computer Science. Overall, the workshop received highly positive evaluations, which further confirmed the participants’ enthusiasm throughout the tasks. Survey responses highlighted the workshop’s topic as compelling and future-oriented, with students expressing confidence in the practical skills they had acquired for their career paths — each of them also showed interest in attending a similar event in future. Ela and Ada received praise for their engagement, thorough content preparation, and supportive mentorship. The workshop’s presentation and teaching style were particularly applauded, underscoring the professionalism demonstrated by our developers.
Invaluable practical skills
It’s never easy to start a journey into unfamiliar territory. The students who attended our event learnt the ins and outs of web application development, which will help them enter the IT world with their heads held high and confidence in their newly acquired skills. A career in the technology field is marked by constant challenges but there is a place for everyone in it. Especially since, as technology evolves, there are more specialisations than ever — without imposing pressure to excel in each one, a budding developer is sure to find their cup of tea.
Summary
Organising this workshop presented us with some challenges, but it was also immensely gratifying. Events like this reaffirm our belief in the aspirations of many young people to pursue a career in the IT world and expand their technological horizons. We would like to thank the Bialystok University of Technology for their help in bringing this workshop to life — this is not our first collaboration, and we hope it will not be the last. The workshop itself would not have taken place without Ela and Ada — the girls are remarkably talented specialists, and the experience and knowledge of developers like them are the foundations of every successful IT company. For insights into upcoming events hosted by Infinity Group, be sure to follow our social media channels.
