![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kood.tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Voru-linna-EV-108-aastapaevale-puhendatud-pidulik-vastuvott_Foto-Aigar-Nagel-65-1160x773.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPhoto: Aigar Nagel<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All nominees in various categories are selected based on submitted proposals. What distinguishes the \u201cDeed of the Year\u201d title is that the winner is determined through a public vote. This time, local residents chose the opening of the programming school \/\/kood learning center kood\/V\u00f5ru as the V\u00f5ru City Deed of the Year 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The doors of the new learning center opened at the beginning of September 2025, although the idea of developing IT education in V\u00f5ru County has been circulating for over a decade. The foundation for kood\/V\u00f5ru was laid in 2023 by the V\u00f5ru City Government and the V\u00f5rumaa Development Centre. In cooperation with the local institutions, an EU project was prepared, \u201cEstablishment of the kood\/V\u00f5ru programming school and promotion of the IT Sector,\u201d aimed at creating a \/\/kood branch in V\u00f5ru along with a business-support network, thereby expanding access to technology education in Southern Estonia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Head of V\u00f5rumaa Development Centre Tiit Toots, at the future learning center. Photo: Lota Vana, Postimees<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several partners are involved in the project and Barrus, a V\u00f5rumaa-based company and one of Europe\u2019s leading manufacturers of finger-jointed and glue-laminated pine components, joined as a co-founder of kood\/V\u00f5ru. The support of strong local businesses highlights that this is not merely an educational initiative, but a strategic investment in the region\u2019s long-term future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When presenting the award, Mayor of V\u00f5ru Kalvi K\u00f5va noted that the arrival of kood\/V\u00f5ru was met with curiosity – what it is and what would take place there. Within just a few months, that curiosity has brought more than 500 people to the learning center. kood\/V\u00f5ru has hosted admissions test, press visits,\u00a0 recognition events, discussions with entrepreneurs, community evenings, and several other inspiring events. Located in a historic bank building, the learning center has become not just a study space, but also a meeting place and an incubator for ideas. Accepting the recognition, Head of Learning Centers K\u00e4tlin Merisalu remarked that the cultural and linguistic space of V\u00f5ru is ready to welcome a new language – the programming language Java.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This January, for the first time, the \u201cSelection Sprint\u201d which is the admissions test, took place simultaneously across all study centers in Estonia, including kood\/V\u00f5ru. During the admissions, candidates spent the first two weeks on-site and the final week working remotely, taking their first steps into programming by solving daily assignments. In total, 41 people participated in the Sprint, with an average age of 30. The largest number of participants came from V\u00f5ru and P\u00f5lva counties.The second kood\/V\u00f5ru batch which is the 8th for \/\/kood overall, will start in March 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visiting Barrus factory with the Sprinters<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, kood\/V\u00f5ru Startup programme was launched to support \/\/kood students as well as anyone interested in innovative solutions, providing foundational knowledge in entrepreneurship. The programme begins with a hackathon and continues with a training and mentorship period. The first cohort has already developed prototypes of their ideas, and the next hackathon, featuring new problems, will take place on March 7\u20138.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same initiative also introduced a programming elective for upper secondary schools. Through kood\/FutureCoders, young people can build foundational programming skills before continuing their studies. To date, nearly 1,200 students across Estonia have joined the course. With kood\/V\u00f5ru, an important step has been taken to expand opportunities for both local youth and young people nationwide, helping to make technology education a natural part of the learning journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ____<\/p>\n\n\n\n \/\/<\/em>kood was founded in J\u00f5hvi, Estonia in 2021, with the aim of making technology education accessible to everyone and <\/em>address the software developers shortage. From 2025, students can study in J\u00f5hvi, V\u00f5ru and Paide. Its 12\u201315 month curriculum is based on 100% practical, self-directed and peer-to-peer learning, covering full-stack software development, teamwork and problem solving. Students can later specialise in fields such as cybersecurity, mobile applications, or AI.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \/\/kood has welcomed more than 1,200 students in Estonia with close to 400 graduates – half of whom are now working in the technology sector. Students represent over 30 different nationalities, 21% are women <\/em>and the average age is 29. You can find the \/\/kood peer-to-peer learning method and curriculum also in Finland, Ukraine and Kenya.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2025, the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications recognised \/\/kood as one of the best entrepreneurship promoters in the country.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The accessibility of IT education is supported by Skaala, Swedbank, Kaamos, LHV, SEB, Barrus and others. <\/em><\/p>\n 28.02.2026 At the reception dedicated to the 108th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia on February 23, the City of V\u00f5ru recognized individuals, institutions, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25501,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[212],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25516"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25531,"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25516\/revisions\/25531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kood.tech\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kood.tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/16159899t1h3486-1-1160x870.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kood.tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_2457-1160x870.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n