Going global, from music to coding, and women in tech – kood/Cast ep 7

At //kood, we believe that learning to code isn’t just about syntax and software, it’s about opening doors. And our latest episode of kood/Cast proves just that.

In this episode, //kood CEO Lauri Haav joins us to share exciting updates on the school’s growth across Estonia and beyond. With new campuses opening in Võru and Paide this fall, and international pilots underway in Zhytomyr, Ukraine and Nairobi, Kenya, //kood is proving that peer-based coding education can truly travel across borders and cultures.

“It’s not just about new locations,” Lauri explains, “it’s about new opportunities, for people of all ages, backgrounds, and geographies.”

From music to coding: Joosep’s journey

Next, we hear from Joosep Serva, a kood/Jõhvi alumnus who started out as a musician and is now working as an AI engineer at LHV. His story is a perfect example of the power of reskilling:

“I used to play the french horn in the Estonian Defence Orchestra. Now I build retrieval-augmented generation platforms. I think there is something with music and coding — for musicians, coding clicks somehow, because you learn like another language when you are learning music.”

Joosep also talks about AI as a collaborative tool, how coding with extensions like Roo Code feels like “pair programming with a robot,” and why junior developers today must learn to lead AI, not fear it.

Women in tech and mentoring the next generation of coders

The episode closes with a powerful conversation with Merilin Lupp, Head of IT at Ericsson Estonia. Beyond her day job, Merilin is a mentor and coach, helping women and men transition into tech through the initiative Womente – a mentorship program she co-founded.

“Coaching is about helping people identify where they want to go,” she says, “and mentoring is about sharing your experience to help them get there.”

In partnership with kood/Jõhvi, Merilin and her team support students, especially women and career changers, with one-on-one guidance, networking support, and honest advice about entering the tech field.

As Merilin puts it, diversity in tech isn’t just about balance, it’s about better ideas and better teams.

Looking ahead

Whether it’s unlocking career opportunities in remote Estonia, offering in Ukraine, or planting the first seeds of coding education in Kenya, //kood is proving that tech education should have no borders.

And with students like Joosep and mentors like Merilin, the future looks more inclusive, innovative, and human than ever.

🧠 Want to hear the full story?
🎧 Listen to the full kood/Cast episode on YouTube or Spotify