Parents shared their experience with Tech Spark Academy camps at locations spanning from Geneva in southwestern Switzerland to Zurich in the northeast.
At TechSpark Academy, students learn in small classes under the guidance of our carefully selected instructors from the Swiss Institutes of technology in Zurich (ETHZ) and Lausanne, (EPFL). We are sure our parent testimonials will help you when wrestling with the question of choosing a digital skills camp, whether it be day camp, online workshop, or residential camp
“My daughter both enjoyed the week with Techspark and grew in confidence as a result. We managed in a few short days to turn a family tension point (too much ipad) into a constructive use of her energy. Thank you for this great experience for Iris.”
Alistair Smith
Talent Solutions at Adecco Group
“Our son enjoyed multiple courses, was enthusiastic about the Google Cybersecurity weekend, and then followed through with participation at the SwissOlympiad in Informatics. It has been a great experience for him, and as parents we appreciated this opportunity close to home. In particular, we have been impressed by the highly dedicated instructors who go out of their way to support and inspire the kids.”
Iris Danke
Founder at HealthyLyving GmbH
“My sons definitely enjoyed the camps because they wanted to go back again and again. As parents we enjoyed the open-door sessions on the last day”
Alison Bewick
Nestlé Vevey
“My son, Dimitrios, took Python and Hacking Mode; he loved both. Still uses what he learned.
I find that there is the right mixture of topics for the youngsters, the small classes (think 5 only) and the highly energized and skilled instructors (who are also at the right age to have a positive impact on the kids.) The courses are a lot of fun and the material is presented in a way that attracts their imagination and appetite to learn in ways that are completely innovative vis-à-vis how I was taught some of these topics.
Yes there are other camps (we tried 2 in Geneva) that offer similar subjects. They are not bad. But the advantages I have seen in the TechSpark Academy are (i) much more direct contact for parents (e.g. to find details on courses), (ii) more age groups, (iii) better selection of high tech subjects (granted this is personal taste), (iv) background and age of instructors (typically EPFL / ETHZ graduates/students), (v) enthusiasm. YMMV.
WARNING: plan for 30-45min every day after the class as your excited kid explains/shows to you all the great things he / she learned.
Petros DAFNIOTIS, PhD
Research Associate
« Mon fils et son ami étaient enthousiastes à propos de leurs cours Python; ils ont beaucoup appris et apprécié le prof. et le cadre d’apprentissage. Personnellement, ,je pense que c’est exactement le type de cours qui contribue à promouvoir les compétences digitales dont ont besoin nos jeunes (et moins jeunes) à l’ère numérique. »
Dre Isabelle Dauner Gardiol,
Économiste, responsable de projet, Pully
“Thank you for the experience. The girls had a great time and probably will be back for more.”
Eric Linn
Director at Home Instead Senior Care
“Before enrolling my daughter and son for the coding courses, I thought that learning to code was too difficult for children. But making coding fun as they do in TechSpark Academy was the best way to get my children interested in computer programming and coding.
Using their logic and calculation skills while creating something on their own made it engaging and fun and they could even … grow their math skills without even realising it!
It was a great experience giving my children this opportunity of doing something enjoyable which, at the same time, is educational and helps them to stimulate creativity, curiosity and learn new skills that are so important in today’s digital era!
And, after the course, they were so excited putting their parents playing the game they had just created by themselves ????!”
Estela Coutinho, MS Econ
Patient Advocacy Leader
