University of Helsinki Publishes Free Intro Course on Modern JavaScript-based Web Development

The University of Helsinki is offering its “Deep Dive Into Modern Web Development” course online for free. It provides an introduction to JavaScript-based web development with React, Redux, Node.js, MongoDB, and GraphQL. Participants will learn the basics of building single page applications with ReactJS. This course is the same as the Full Stack course that was offered at the university’s Department of Computer Science in Spring 2019.

The material is available in both Finnish and English and is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. It is structured into nine parts:

Fundamentals of Web apps

Introduction to React

Communicating with the server

Programming a server with NodeJS and Express

Testing Express servers, user administration

Testing React apps, custom hooks

State management with Redux

React router, styling app with CSS and webpack

GraphQL

The University partnered with seven companies to provide participants with an “interview promise” if they complete the course with full credits and the practical work. This offer, which is only available to those with a Finnish social security number, is similar to coding bootcamps that offer job interviews after completion.

The university issued a call for companies to join the “Full Stack Challenge,” encouraging their employees to take the course and build upon their expertise:

Our objective is to encourage learning. We offer a fully-assembled and purposefully-scoped Full Stack course that lowers the barrier of entry for learning about new state-of-the-art and production grade technologies. The course is free of charge and you can participate from anywhere at anytime, at your leisure.

The course is built by coders for coders, and offers something for both newcomers and seasoned industry veterans alike.

All participants who finish the course can download a certificate of completion. Those with a Finnish social security number can take an exam and get official credits from the University.

WordPress developers who have yet to jump into the world of React-based JavaScript development may find this course to be a useful, structured introduction. Participants should have a a basic understanding of programming and databases, as well as decent grasp of working with Git.