The second season of the unique educational project, Unlocking the Code, launched on December 5. It was organized by the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ in collaboration with the Academy of Innovative Education and Development, with information support from the Smart Internet Foundation (.ДЕТИ domain). The project aims to develop programming skills, expand knowledge of digital technologies, and promote digital professions among teenagers.
Particular attention is paid to schoolchildren from small and rural schools, as well as residents of boarding schools and orphanages. The organizers aim to ensure equal access to quality education and help young people realize their potential in cybertechnology.
The training is delivered in teams of teachers and students: mentors are the first to acquire new skills, and then they pass this knowledge on to their pupils, both verbally and using methodological materials. The emphasis is on interactive learning methods, enabling children to quickly master the basics of programming for a successful start to a career in the IT industry.
The season opened online during a webinar, to which participants who applied for training in Secrets of Code before the deadline, as well as the project’s organizers, instructors, and tutors, were invited.
Olga Rubtsova, Rector of the Academy of Innovative Education and Development, was the first speaker, who stressed the importance of collaboration between the project’s key partners. She highlighted that joint efforts made it possible to address the complex task of career guidance for schoolchildren and prepare professionals for the modern labor market.
Andrey Vorobyev, Director of the .RU/.РФ Coordination Center, noted that the program not only allows children to try their hand at programming but also helps them understand the range of career paths in the IT field. An important goal was to provide equal opportunities for all participants, regardless of their region of residence.
Viktoria Bunchuk, Head of Social Projects at the Coordination Center, concluded the welcoming session. She noted that in addition to programming, the children and their mentors would attend a series of career guidance lectures demonstrating the wide range of professions linked to digital technology. Participants will meet specialists such as motion designers, app and bot developers, digital lawyers, white-hat experts, SMM specialists, IT journalists, and PR and digital recruitment professionals.
The introductory general education lectures of the second Unlocking the Code course kicked off December 8 with an overview of the history of the internet and the formation of the address space, led by Georgy Georgievsky, Head of the Registrar and User Relations Department at the Coordination Center. That same week, teacher–student teams will explore the basics of programming languages and, together with Anastasia Savelyeva, Coordinator of the Coordination Center’s Summer Internet Governance School, will learn about internet architecture and the processes of internet governance for the evolution of the industry.
Nearly five months of coding and engaging meetings in a hybrid online and offline format lie ahead. The course will conclude in spring 2026 with a programming olympiad.
