JetBrains Academy: Looking Back at 2021
As we look back at 2021, we can proudly say that JetBrains Academy, as a learning platform and the team that stands behind it, accomplished and matured a lot. We released lots of new tracks and interactive projects, explored a new programming language and subjects of study, introduced new special offers, and more.
But our biggest success is you, our learners, and your professional growth. We were proud to see you developing your first “Hello, World!” and fixing your first bug. It seems like such a long time ago that you were just starting out – now you are getting your well-deserved certificates of completion, starting the careers of your dreams, and some of you are already working on your own applications to make other people’s lives better.
We came a long way together to get to where we are now. That’s why we decided to take a step back, remind ourselves about the amazing things that happened last year, and prepare for the new adventures ahead. Will you join us?
🔷 New tracks, fields, and language to study
🔷 Favorite projects of the year
🔷 Special offer for ISIC/ITIC cardholders
🔷 Free plan
🔷 Certificates of completion
🔷 JetBrains Academy for Organizations
🔷 Success stories
New tracks, subjects, and language to study
Last year we released 10 new tracks, which provided an opportunity to learn a new programming language – Go, and offered new subjects to study – Math and machine learning. We also released our first short track that teaches you shell scripting in just 8 hours. To cover the diverse Java and Python landscape, we added new tracks that are fine-tuned to the specifics of these languages. You can gradually expand your knowledge in these programming languages or you can cherry pick and start learning whatever you are most interested in, like the Django framework in Python or desktop application development in Java.
Note that the Go for Beginners and Introduction to Command Line and Unix Shell tracks will only be available for free until January 31. If you haven’t had a chance to explore them yet, now might be a good time to start!
Favorite projects of the year
Not to be conceited, but in 2021 our team outdid itself. We created 78 new projects and published 424 new educational topics! As a learning community, you left more than 178,000 comments in JetBrains Academy, which means a lot to us. You help each other find bugs, crack challenging tasks, share hints, ask for advice, and support each other. It amazes us how strong our community has become, and we thank you for that.
We decided to analyze which projects were the most liked in 2021. We looked for the projects that were completed most often, and picked from those that you rated highest on 3 criteria – usefulness, clarity, and fun. This is the list of our top projects!
Python projects
💚 Arithmetic Exam Application: beginners’ favorite project
In this project, you write an application that facilitates quickly solving arithmetic operations. It will generate a mathematical expression for a user to solve, implement various levels of difficulty, save the results, and show the learning progress. Learners like this project for its clarity explaining the basics of Python.
💚 Text Generator: advanced learners’ favorite project
If you ever wondered how machine learning works and what are the secrets behind it, this project is for you. In this project, you will create a program that can predict the next word in a pseudo-sentence based on the previous words in the sequence and the data that is used to create a statistical model. Learners like it for a deeper understanding of natural language processing.
Java projects
🧡 Cinema Room Manager: beginners’ favorite project
In this project, you will create an application to help manage a cinema: sell tickets, check available seats, see sales statistics, and more. Learners like this project because it provides a good opportunity to work with input and output in Java. You will also learn how to work with multi-dimensional arrays, functions, loops, and conditional statements.
🧡 Simple Search Engine: advanced learners’ favorite project
This project will guide you through creating your own search engine. It probably won’t compete with Google – at least not yet – as yours will be a simple version which processes data and searches for a word or a phrase within it. Learners enjoy this project because they gain confidence in working with files and consoles and learn how to optimize the search process.
Kotlin projects
💜 Minesweeper: beginners’ favorite project
In this project, you will create your own “Minesweeper” game to train both your and your players’ brains. You will learn how to work with lists in Kotlin. Learners like it for its clarity describing how to work with algorithms and process the player moves.
💜 Parking Lot: advanced learners’ favorite project
In this project, you will build a parking lot management program that keeps track of vacant spots and parked cars. Learners appreciate the applicability of this project. They become confident with the basics of Kotlin and can start working on more advanced tasks.
💜 Basic Calculator: Android learners’ favorite project
This project teaches you how to create a basic calculator application while you get to know Android Studio better. Learners like this project for the useful introduction to working with a UI and the clear guidance on how to make your program respond to user actions.
Frontend projects
💛 Flashcards: beginners’ favorite project
This project teaches you how to create a stylized page for flashcards, each containing a question on one side and an answer on the other. Learners like this project for its clear explanation and practicing HTML and CSS basics.
💛 Virtual Piano: advanced learners’ favorite project
In this project, you will work with the keyboard keys and build a virtual piano. You will learn how to write HTML documents and work with some of the most popular CSS properties. Learners enjoy learning JavaScript in a fun and different way.
Go projects
💙 Simple Chatty Bot: beginners’ favorite project
In this project, you will create a simple chat bot that will guide you through the basics of Golang. Learners like this project mostly because they get to practice Go without any previous programming background and enjoy writing a simple program using variables, conditions, loops, and functions.
Special offer for ISIC/ITIC cardholders
We strive for our platform to be accessible to everyone. In 2021, we made a big step towards this by partnering with the ISIC Association! ISIC/ITIC cardholders are now eligible for a 50% discount on an annual or monthly JetBrains Academy personal subscription. To claim this discount, existing JetBrains Academy members need to enter their ISIC/ITIC information on the Settings page. New users can claim their discount during registration. Lots of learners have already taken advantage of the offer, which reassures us that we are going in the right direction.
Free plan
Another big step towards making sure the platform remains accessible to everyone was introducing our new Free plan. It provides individual learners with full access to all the free tracks, like Kotlin Basics. If you’ve ever wondered what it is like to program, this plan provides a great opportunity to try it for yourself. There is no need to sign up for a trial or enter payment information – simply register at JetBrains Academy, choose a track with the Free plan, and start learning!
You can also learn on our subscription tracks with a free 7-day trial. If you finish the first stage of your project within those 7 days, your trial will be extended by 1 month. If you finish your first project within that first month, you will have one more month added to your trial. In total, you can earn 2 months and 7 days of free learning, which is enough to complete a few easy projects and test the waters.
Certificates of completion
Certificates of completion was probably the most welcomed feature of the year. JetBrains Academy certificates offer a perfect way to showcase the skills you’ve gained through your learning. They help you stand out in the job market, get noticed by recruiters, and advance your career. Some of you have already received your personalized certificates and attached them to your résumés and LinkedIn profiles. We are always excited to read your feedback!
JetBrains Academy for Organizations
Over the past years we have received a lot of requests from organizations who wanted to empower their teams with a high-quality learning experience. They wanted their employees or students to gain real programming experience that could be applied in their work or studies. So we were happy to announce the release of JetBrains Academy for Organizations.
Organizations, regardless of industry or size, can ensure their team succeeds in their field, whether studying programming from scratch, advancing their existing skills, or keeping up with constantly changing technologies. All with the ability to manage their learning process.
Success stories
We are always happy to get to know you, as it gives us a chance to meet awesome people from all over the world. Last year we published 3 interviews with our learners, each with their own amazing story to tell, and we were proud to share them with you. They also gave their advice on learning programming. If you are on a journey into programming, check out these interviews:
📃 Wojtek Ślusarczyk told us about how learning Python with JetBrains Academy helped him pass a job interview at Nokia. Read more in our interview.
📃 Joviane Bellegarde gave us a student’s perspective on online education in the field of programming and shared her thoughts about how it can be beneficial in academic studies. Read more in our interview.
📃 Andrei Maftei shared his programming experience that has helped him on his way to creating an AI for medical diagnoses. Read more in our interview.
If you’d like to tell your story, we are always happy to talk to you. Send us an email at academy@jetbrains.com, and we’ll get in touch!
Of course, we couldn’t fit all our yearly news into one blog post, even though we really wanted to. We hope you’ll share these happy moments with us, because we could not have done this without your trust and support.
Thank you for being with us on this amazing journey, and here’s to our new accomplishments in 2022! 🚀
Your JetBrains Academy team
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