Empowering women to explore tech, AI in banking, and expanding tech education with kood/Järva – kood/Cast ep 8
In this episode of kood/Cast, we explore how kood/Empower helps women take their first steps into coding and tech, how AI is shaping banking at LHV, and how a new campus kood/Järva is bringing coding opportunities beyond Estonia’s biggest cities
Expanding tech education: Kaspar and kood/Järva
The episode kicks off with Kaspar Tammist, the driving force behind kood/Järva in Paide.
Kaspar shares how this new campus was born out of a desire to bring tech education to smaller towns, proving that innovation doesn’t just happen in big cities.
With local support and //kood’s unique peer-learning model, kood/Järva opens doors for career changers and young people eager to build a future in tech — right in the heart of Estonia.
Meet two kood/Empower participants: Riita and Meeri-Ly
Next, we hear from participants of kood/Empower, a program designed to inspire more women to take their first steps into coding and explore careers in tech.
Their stories show how different the paths into tech can be:
Meeri-Ly joined to discover whether coding — and //kood’s unique peer-learning model — were the right fit for her.
“My goal for kood/Empower was to understand whether coding would be something for me and whether the learning structure would suit me. For myself, I kind of ticked all of the boxes.”
Riita, on the other hand, came with a very different goal: to better understand and collaborate with her IT/product team while being in business development, gaining valuable insight into how tech professionals work and think.
“I wanted to better understand how my IT colleagues work and think. And that actually worked out very well. It gave me a basic understanding of how this world works. Understanding the practicalities of what they do became much clearer. I gained a lot of respect for their job and appreciation”.
These stories highlight how short, accessible programs like kood/Empower can serve many different purposes — whether it’s exploring a potential career shift or bridging the gap between tech and non-tech roles.
Meeri-Ly took it a step further and joined the Selection Sprint, the gateway to becoming a full-time kood/Jõhvi student.
AI and the future of work: Martti from LHV
The episode wraps up with Martti Praks from LHV, offering insights into how one of Estonia’s leading banks uses AI in its daily operations — and what this means for future coders.
Martti sees AI as a partner, not a replacement:
“AI makes somebody’s work more efficient — they can deliver more and build cool stuff faster. But it’s a helper, not a replacer.”
He also addresses a key concern for young developers entering the field:
“We still need engineers. If you learn to solve problems, you’ll definitely have a job in the future.”
This conversation is a powerful reminder that problem-solving skills — the core of what //kood teaches — will remain vital no matter how technology evolves.
Key takeaways:
✔ kood/Empower opens doors to tech, whether for taking first steps to coding, enhancing collaboration with IT/product teams, or personal growth.
✔ AI is a helper, not a replacer.
✔ The future of tech jobs depends on strong problem-solving skills.
✔ Tech education can thrive anywhere — not just in big cities.
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