Student Life

During Foundations, you will be working independently following our foundations curriculum, have weekly check-ins with your facilitator and other students. You will complete five sprints, with set learning objectives and outcomes. Expect to dedicate up to 40 hours a week to Foundations, although this time is flexible. Your facilitator will be available to chat with on Discord outside of your check-in times.

During Bootcamp, you will be expected to be live online from 8.45am - 5.00pm, Monday to Friday for 9 weeks full-time or 28 weeks part-time. Expect to be coding and learning for around 60 hours a week. You can check out a schedule for a typical day at bootcamp on the FAQ page.

During Bootcamp, teachers will be available on Discord during these hours. We typically maintain a ratio of 1 teacher per 10 students.

Remote doesn’t mean learning on your own. You’ll be part of a highly-curated cohort of people learning alongside you, with plenty of opportunities to collaborate, ask questions, share ideas and get to know each other.

You’ll spend a lot of time working together through pair programming, group projects and Discord, as well as connecting at scheduled in-person meetups and cohort milestones. Some of your biggest learning moments will come from the people learning alongside you.

Each week students take part in a Human Skills deep dive, and have fortnightly one-on-one check ins with a Human Skills facilitator to help support your journey at Dev Academy.

We are committed to providing pastoral care for our students, so alongside your regular check-ins, we also offer access to counselling if you are having issues managing your mental health during bootcamp.

Careers Skills module is a wonderful opportunity to meet industry professionals, work on your CV and cover letter, and get your job hunt started in a supportive and uplifting environment.

We encourage our grads to book 1:1 career meetings with our recruitment team to help prepare them for transition into employment. You’ll also see job opportunities posted on our Alumni Discord channel from our trusted network of employers. 

This setup is required while you’re studying to give you a great experience of working and learning remotely:

• Either a laptop or desktop is fine

• A webcam and a microphone (if you have a laptop, the built-in ones should be fine)

• Reliable high speed broadband (at last 50Mbps, but preferably fibre)

• 2 screens or equivalent, either your laptop screen and an external monitor, or if you have a desktop then two external monitors or one large/wide monitor (at least 27”)

• External keyboard and mouse (for ergonomics / OOS prevention)

• Headphones or earbuds (ideally noise cancelling headphones if your environment is noisy)

• Other ergonomic things to suit your individual needs, e.g. footstool, wrist rest, standing desk

Bootcamp is hard work, so it’s important to let your support networks know what you’re up to and how they can best support you.

If you are a parent, make sure you’re open with your co-parent/s and whānau about extra childcare requirements. Get plans in place for school runs, lunchboxes, and playdates so your kids are occupied while you are studying.

Speaking of lunchboxes, think about what types of food you can have on hand to give you the energy you need for all the intensive learning you’ll be doing.

Think about what a good workspace would look like for you at home. This will be where you spend most of your study time, so make sure it’s comfortable, functional, and a space that makes you happy!

Here are a few questions to get you thinking:

• Where can you set up your screens, keyboard, and other equipment without feeling cramped?

• Is there enough light, and is your chair comfortable?

• If you share your space, how could you agree on quiet study times with others at home?

• What would make the space feel welcoming—for example, a plant, a favourite photo, or a tidy desk?

• Where could you step away from your screen for breaks?