Making its debut yesterday, Woz U offers what it calls “…the fastest, most direct path to tech-based careers that are most in demand by business and government…without the high cost of traditional degree programs.” The organization is currently offering programs in full-stack software development, Python, and computer support. Coming in 2018 are programs in data science, mobile applications, and cybersecurity.
Woz U Online offers students 24/7 access to online programs, instructors, and mentors and is targeting those currently working full time or traveling extensively. Planned for 2018 are Woz U academies that will feature one-on-one instruction. According to The Wall Street Journal, Woz U will add campuses in more than 30 cities.
Woz U grew out of a relationship between Steve Wozniak and for-profit university Southern Careers Institute, the Journal reports. It quotes Wozniak as saying, “Our goal is to educate and train people in employable digital skills without putting them into years of debt.”
Woz U seems to want to occupy a space between traditional universities and coding boot camps; the Journal notes that several of the latter have closed recently.
Woz U’s software developer program webpage emphasizes, “This is not a traditional coding boot camp. While coding boot camps have recently hit the landscape by force, there is a difference between teaching you how to code and preparing you to become a professional software developer in the world of start-ups and technology companies.” Students can graduate from the software developer program in 33 weeks.
And those not sure what they want to do with their lives can check out the Woz U mobile app, which “…includes an aptitude test which will point prospective students to the best available career path for them, allowing them to focus on where they are most likely to grow and thrive in a technology-based career based on their interests and strengths.”
