15 software engineering finalists in the USA selected

In April of this year , the news about the fact that anyone has the opportunity to get a Master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by Software Engineering was in Habré. And so it happened - from the 720 applications submitted, 15 lucky ones were selected, who at the end of summer leave for one year to study at one of the best universities in the United States. Why does this news make me happy? Because two of the finalists are my friends and Parallels colleagues. On the other hand, because this idea seemed unreal to me. It’s unrealistic not because it’s hard to find a training program and money (if you really want to fly into space), as unexpected from the side of Innopolis and soon to be announced.

Under the cut, my conversation with the two people who will go to Carnegie Mellon from Parallels. She without cuts. I publish it for those who may want to apply for this program next year. Who is interested in asking additional questions, I will also try to answer.
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Prehistory

Details of the proposed education? Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is one of the most respected in software engineering education. It is located in the city of Pittsburgh (PA, USA). Participants in this program have the opportunity to get a master's degree in the program "Master of Information Technology - Software Development Management" / "Master of Science in Information Technology - Software Engineering, MSIT-SE". The duration of the course is 1 year. (NOTE: The cost of a one-year tuition for this program out of competition is about $ 65,000, and more than $ 20,000 must be paid to stay).

Why could this proposal interest someone? Because the organizers promised a whole bunch of nishtyakov: a year of student life in the United States, free tuition, scholarship, knowledge, prospects and all that jazz. But the main reason is that the CMU Software Engineering Training program is one of the best and most sought-after in the world (according to ratings and surveys of sources such as the Wall Street Journal), and graduates receive the highest starting salaries in the IT industry compared to graduates other universities in the world ( $ 84K in 2011 ).

Why is this such a charity? In Tatarstan they make their Skolkovo whose name is Innopolis. It will be such an innovative city, “which will unite young highly qualified specialists from all over the country, thus strengthening the innovative potential of the Russian Federation”. This city will be located in Tatarstan, on the banks of the river in a resort location. To live in it will be up to 155 thousand people. And there will be the first university in Russia specializing in information technology. And that is where the first employees are needed. After training, these 15 people “will join the development process of Innopolis University and apply their knowledge and experience so that it becomes a world-class institution of higher education”. In other words: you will need to work 2 years on the office. No, no, passports will not be taken away, and they will even pay “decent” salary.

Well, actually, and the whole background. The flywheel is running. More details about the Innopolis itself can be found here . About 15 lucky ones can be read here . About Carnegie Melon University and the program - here .

Two Parallels employees are among the finalists.

And now about my joy, that is, two friends from Parallels, who were among the 15 lucky ones. Meet: Flash-developer in the Department of Creative Services Uliana Skladchikova (Moscow), and developer Alexander Naumchev (Novosibirsk).

Here is how the guys presented themselves on the Innopolis website:
Uliana Skladchikova

I learned about the competition from the newsletter within the company Parallels, where I am currently working as a Flash developer in the Creative Services department. In my free time I do yoga, I like to watch TV shows and read. I also love traveling and international business trips. I always dreamed of getting the opportunity to study at a world-class IT university, such as CMU, so I am very glad to join the winning team. I am sure that we, having become employees of Innopolis University, will not only gain unique professional experience, but also be able to contribute to the development of the Russian IT industry.

Alexander Naumchev

I am 27 years old, born in Nizhnevartovsk. He graduated from the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of the Novosibirsk State University. I tried myself in various fields of activity, but in the end I stopped at software development. Since April 2010, I have been a developer at Parallels, which provided me with information about the Innopolis University competition. For me, participation in the project is not only an opportunity for professional growth, but also a chance to contribute to the development of IT education in Russia.

INTERVIEW

I talked to the guys and, in order not to play the damaged phone, I publish a short interview with them without notes.

Uliana, Sasha, I congratulate you on your victory. Let's be honest - was it difficult?

Alexander : It was difficult only in the sense that I had to collect the necessary documents in a very short time, take the TOEFL, go to Kazan for an interview for two days. At the same time, we are all working people, so we had to deal with these tasks in our free time, or somehow try to combine them. In general, I had to seriously mobilize. But the difficulties did not end there. In fact, we have already started distance learning, preparatory, but we also continue to work and run in parallel with the documents for visa processing.

So, let's order. First, tell us what you had to do to be among the 15 finalists.

Ulyana : At the first stage, it was necessary to send your resume indicating the work experience, education and level of English (so far without any supporting documents). At the second stage, it was already necessary to collect a whole package of documents, such as an extract from a university degree, all kinds of certificates and diplomas ever received. I even sent the results of trainings from the first job. In addition, three letters of recommendation were needed: two from work, one from the university. And a motivation letter. It is clear that all this had to be translated into English. As far as I know, this is a standard set of documents required for admission to Carnegie Mellon University, regardless of our program. By the way, two more people applied for participation from Parallels, but in the end they withdrew their candidatures because they decided to improve English. They promised to try again next year.

Out of 720 people who applied for participation, 70 people collected a full package of documents. Of these, 30 people were invited for an interview in Kazan. We were paid for accommodation, but it was necessary to get at their own expense. Already on the spot it turned out that the interview would take place via video conferencing. We were taken turns in turn into the room where there was a video chat with five people from the admissions office of CMU. Of course, the interview is in English. Results were not immediately announced. Upon returning home, those who received letters with further instructions understood that they had been interviewed.

Admissions commission committed atrocities?

Alexander : On the contrary, they were quite sweet and tactful. And the questions, as it seemed to me, tried to ask simple ones. But the atmosphere itself was exciting. Personally, I was shaking with fear. The questions boiled down to what I do at my current place of work, what problems I face and how I study at Carnegie Mellon will allow to solve these problems. Other guys asked about the same thing.

Well, well, you have been interviewed and in fact are already Carnegie Mellon students. What is happening with your group now?

Ulyana : Now we are going through an accelerated preparatory course called Personal Software Process. Initially we were told that this was a short introductory course, but I can say that he personally takes 4 hours a day from me. Combining with current work is hard and many students complain about the lack of time.

Tell me more about how this training goes.

Ulyana : We are registered in the CMU university environment as students. We are allocated a personal group teacher. True, he remotely deals with us only once a week. For the rest of the time, we study according to a prearranged program. We watch videos, read specialized texts and perform tasks. In my opinion, everything that we study there is very interesting and relevant. The only difficulty is the time limit, because we continue to work.

Now let's get the skeleton out of the closet. What is wrong with this program, what do we not know about?

Ulyana : There is nothing bad so far, except for some issues that are under negotiation. There are a number of streamlined wording in our contracts concerning living conditions, payment for work after training, working conditions themselves, etc., which, due to their flow around, cause a double interpretation. It is clear that we all want to somehow protect ourselves, because the contract has a clause about a substantial amount of the penalty. It seems to me that our leaders at Innopolis are meeting us and I hope that all differences will be resolved.

I understand correctly that you are losing your current job because you are hiring to a new employer represented by Innopolis?

Alexander : Formally, yes. But we hope that our employer, that is, Parallels, will meet us, and after completing the program we will have chances to return to the company. Moreover, besides the current work experience, we will already have the knowledge gained in the CMU.

You are already familiar with the other guys from the group. Have an impression of what they are? Do you have a strong team?

Ulyana : The guys are good, positive, strong. It can be seen that the selection was fair. If at first there was a feeling that there would be only Tatarstan residents in the group, now look at the list - there are only two guys from Kazan. I am pleased with the selection process. By the way, one guy in our group - Zakhar Gerich - from Kiev, and the girl - Yevgenia Trofimova - now works in Mexico, in the city of Sapopan at Oracle. There is a guy from the company Fujitsu. In general, all sensible.

Alexander : I absolutely agree. There was an impression that a rather strong team is going. All the guys represent good universities, difficult faculties. Short communication was enough to understand that people are difficult in terms of intellectual and communication skills.

Why do you even need all this? Do you think Parallels didn't work well?

Ulyana : I submitted the documents simply because I was wondering whether I would pass the competition or not. And already during the successful completion of the selection stages I began to realize that it was really interesting, that it was an unusual and very useful experience. I almost do not regret that I got involved in all this. While I like everything and I think that I am doing the right thing.

Alexander : Parallels was great. I hope that I will continue cooperation with the company. But thanks to this program, I expect that I will raise my level of education, because CMU is still an advanced university in this area. And, of course, the learning process itself, the student body, is interesting. We will have a very dense program, because the master's diploma, which we receive in two years, we will receive in a year. The teachers say that we absolutely will not have time to do extraneous things. I, in general, do not expect this. Besides, I am interested in teaching myself. I think this is one of the advantages of the program. Therefore, I will be happy to return to Innopolis and share my knowledge with future students.

Last question: when do you go to Pittsburgh?

Alexander : According to the program on August 12, we should already be there. But it seems that due to problems with paperwork, this date will slightly shift. The first day of class is August 25th.