The Yandex.Lyceum, a Yandex educational course on programming for schoolchildren, was launched in Dubna.

More than 100 students from Dubna and other cities took part in the open competition to study at the Dubna platform of the Lyceum. Thirty 7-9 grade students were selected. They demonstrated excellent mathematical logic and the wish to work hard in the frames of the project. They will have an opportunity to get knowledge and skills for free which will be sufficient for work as an intern or junior developer. Students learn to programme using the Python language. The programme of the Yandex.Lyceum has been developed by the School of Data Processing the graduates of which are highly evaluated at the labour market. The programme is divided into two parts each of them lasting for a year. During the first year of the course, students of the Lyceum will learn the theory and study techniques in practical work. The second year will be devoted to educational projects.

On 5 October, students together with their parents gathered in the Flerov Lyceum #6 to take part in the festive opening ceremony of the Dubna platform of the Yandex.Lyceum. Students of the Lyceum are schoolchildren from different educational organizations of our city, namely lyceum #6, schools #1 and 9, gymnasiums #3, 8 and 11, the “Dubna” lyceum. One of the peculiarities of the Dubna platform is its international character: there are children of staff members from the JINR Member States.

More than a half-year of joint work of Yandex, the Physics and Mathematics Open Classroom of Dubna, the Lyceum #6 and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research preceded the start of the course. The Flerov Lyceum #6 was chosen as a place for holding classes not accidentally: it is the strongest Dubna school with successful traditions of teaching IT and programming to schoolchildren. Rosa N. Ershova and Alexandra V. Shornikova will be the teachers at the Yandex.Lyceum. They will not be just teachers but mentors of students learning the basics of modern programming. The Yandex.Lyceum is not a school in its basic meaning. On the one hand, students will learn in a class. However, they will have plenty of individual and group tasks. They will not compete with each other; each of them will progress and help each other to advance in study.

Director of the Lyceum #6 Natalia G. Krendeleva, Head of the Social Infrastructure Management Office of JINR, Deputy of the City Council Andrey Tamonov and Coordinator of the Yandex.Lyceum in Dubna, a JINR staff member Mikhail Zhabitsky said their parting words to students. They wished schoolchildren stamina and patience on their complicated way of joining the profession of a programmer and never to give up. They also wished for their first steps towards dreams they can implement in their adult life to be successful.

In 2019, the Yandex.Lyceum project works on 304 platforms in 131 cities of Russia and Kazakhstan. The project is launched in Dubna with the support of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.

Interview with teachers of the Yandex.Lyceum in Dubna R. N. Ershova and A. V. Shornikova

The first visit of Yandex representative to JINR, 28 January 2019

Source: Physics and Mathematics Open Classroom