Sparkle Minds
Coding & Tech Courses for Ages 10–18

Where Curious Minds
Learn to Build

Hands-on courses in coding, databases and agile teamwork for kids and teens — plus occasional workshops for adults. Small groups, real projects, taught by working engineers.

Photo: Thomas Park / Unsplash
Our Mission

Real Skills, Taught by People Who Use Them Every Day.

Sparkle Minds was founded on a simple idea: kids learn tech best from people who actually build things for a living, in groups small enough that no one gets left behind. Our instructors are working (or formerly working) engineers, not just enthusiastic hobbyists.

Every course ends in something real — a game, a website, a database-backed app, a finished sprint — because kids stay motivated when they can point at something they made and say "I built that." We also run occasional workshops for adults, from agile fundamentals for teams to tech-literacy evenings for parents.

What We Teach

💻 Coding & Python
🌐 Web Development
🗄️ Databases & SQL
🧭 Agile & Teamwork
Ages 10–18

Courses for Kids & Teens

Six tracks spanning coding, web development, databases and agile teamwork — grouped by age and skill level so every student is challenged at the right pace.

Ages 10–12
Digital Skills & Coding Program

Foundations of Code & Algorithmic Thinking

Students build fundamental coding concepts using Scratch by mastering event-driven scripts, animation loops, and structured debugging.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Beginner
GroupCHF 350
1:1 IndividualCHF 780
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 10–12
Digital Skills & Coding Program

Problem-Solving, Logic & Game Mechanics

This module explores critical thinking, conditionals, flowcharting, and core game development mechanics in Scratch.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Beginner
GroupCHF 350
1:1 IndividualCHF 780
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 10–12
Digital Skills & Coding Program

Digital Creativity & User Interface (UI/UX)

Students learn user-centered design principles, digital wireframing, and UI/UX fundamentals by integrating custom graphics into code.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Intermediate
GroupCHF 390
1:1 IndividualCHF 860
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 10–12
Digital Skills & Coding Program

Teamwork, Agile Collaboration & Capstone

Working in collaborative teams, students apply Agile methodologies to plan, develop, test, and present a complete capstone project.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Intermediate
GroupCHF 390
1:1 IndividualCHF 860
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 12–13
Text-Based Coding & Systems Program

Text-Based Syntax & Procedural Logic

Students transition from block coding to text-based Python, mastering procedural logic, terminal input/output, and debugging protocols.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Intermediate
GroupCHF 390
1:1 IndividualCHF 860
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 12–13
Text-Based Coding & Systems Program

Systems, Data Representation & Files

This module covers native data structures, low-level binary/hex systems, character encoding, and persistent file input/output in Python.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Intermediate
GroupCHF 390
1:1 IndividualCHF 860
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 13–14
Text-Based Coding & Systems Program

Object-Oriented Software Design

Students master Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) paradigms, class hierarchies, software modularization, and automated unit testing.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Intermediate
GroupCHF 390
1:1 IndividualCHF 860
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 13–14
Text-Based Coding & Systems Program

Algorithms & Computational Optimization

This module introduces searching and sorting algorithms, Big-O time complexity analysis, recursion, and empirical benchmarking.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Intermediate
GroupCHF 390
1:1 IndividualCHF 860
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 14–15
Text-Based Coding & Systems Program

Web Systems, APIs & Persistent Storage

Students learn client-server networking, RESTful API consumption, relational SQL databases, and backend web development using Flask or FastAPI.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 14–15
Text-Based Coding & Systems Program

Agile Studio, Project Management & Final Capstone

Students apply Agile/Scrum frameworks in a team studio environment to build, test, and present a complete full-stack web application.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 14–15
Advanced Software Engineering Program

Advanced Text Coding & Paradigms

Students explore advanced Python and TypeScript execution models, functional programming, metaprogramming, and asynchronous runtime control.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 14–15
Advanced Software Engineering Program

Database Engineering & Relational Logic

This module covers relational algebra, 1NF–BCNF database normalization, indexing internals, SQL tuning, and ACID transactions.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 15–16
Advanced Software Engineering Program

Fundamentals of Data Structures

Students build custom linear data structures from scratch in low-level languages, analyzing pointer arithmetic and memory allocation.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 15–16
Advanced Software Engineering Program

Advanced Data Structures & Memory Models

This module covers non-linear structures, self-balancing trees, graphs, pathfinding algorithms, and dynamic programming.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 16–17
Advanced Software Engineering Program

Advanced Software Design & Project Architecture

Students master enterprise software design, including SOLID principles, GoF design patterns, Domain-Driven Design, and Clean Architecture.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 16–17
Advanced Software Engineering Program

Web APIs, Microservices & Distributed Systems

Students build resilient microservice backends utilizing REST, GraphQL, gRPC, message brokers, and distributed caching strategies.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 17–18
Advanced Software Engineering Program

Systems Engineering, DevOps & Cloud Infrastructure

This module covers Linux administration, Docker containerization, Kubernetes orchestration, automated CI/CD pipelines, and Terraform IaC.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
Ages 17–18
Advanced Software Engineering Program

Enterprise Capstone Studio & Production Release

Students execute full Agile production sprints, automated security audits, load testing, and zero-downtime cloud deployments.

📅 15 lessons · 60 min/lesson🎯 Advanced
GroupCHF 450
1:1 IndividualCHF 980
View Full Curriculum →
For Adults

Occasional Workshops for Adults

A handful of dates a year — hands-on sessions for engineers, teams and non-technical professionals alike.

Modern SPA Architecture: Angular & Vue in Production

A hands-on look at architecting scalable single-page apps with Angular and Vue/Nuxt, drawn from a decade of production experience.

Audience
Frontend & Full-Stack Engineers
Duration
1 day (6 hours)
Per SeatCHF 480
Learn More →

Enterprise Database Architecture & Performance Tuning

Core schema design, indexing internals and query optimization for relational and document-based databases.

Audience
Software Engineers, Backend Developers & Tech Leads
Duration
1 day (6 hours)
Per SeatCHF 480
Learn More →

Pragmatic DevOps: Docker Containerization & CI/CD Pipelines

A practical, hands-on lab in containerizing applications and building automated CI/CD delivery pipelines.

Audience
Developers, DevOps Beginners & System Administrators
Duration
Full day (7 hours)
Per SeatCHF 540
Learn More →

Decentralized Identity & Blockchain in Enterprise Systems

An interactive seminar on integrating decentralized identity and KYC frameworks into enterprise products.

Audience
Solutions Architects, Innovation Leads & Senior Engineers
Duration
Half-day (4 hours)
Per SeatCHF 320
Learn More →

From Idea to Market: Rapid Prototyping & Tech Stack Selection

A strategy session for founders and tech leads on choosing the right stack and shipping an MVP fast.

Audience
Startup Founders, CTOs & Product Managers
Duration
Half-day (4 hours)
Per SeatCHF 320
Learn More →

Practical Scripting & Automation for Non-Technical Professionals

A beginner-friendly bootcamp introducing Python scripting and automation for non-developers.

Audience
Business Analysts, Operations Teams & Non-Developers
Duration
1–2 days
Per SeatCHF 620
Learn More →

Want to be notified when new workshop dates open up? .

How It Works

From First Trial to Demo Day

Small groups, a real instructor, and a clear path from "never coded before" to a finished project.

1

Choose a Track

Pick a course based on your child’s age and experience — from a first taste of coding logic to an advanced capstone project.

2

Free Trial Class

Every track starts with a free trial session, so your child can meet the instructor and classmates before you enroll.

3

Small-Group Sessions

Weekly sessions of 6–10 students, led by a working (or formerly working) engineer who gives real, individual feedback.

4

Build & Showcase

Every course ends in a finished project — a game, a site, a database-backed app — that students take home and show off.

Our Team

Taught by Working Engineers

Every instructor is background-checked and has real professional experience in the subject they teach.

Alex Florescu

Alex Florescu

Lead Instructor · Coding & Web Development

Recognized as Talent of the Year at Oracle University, Alex has a proven track record of mentoring software engineers and successfully training individuals without programming backgrounds in software development and scripting.

Testimonials

What Parents & Participants Say

Real feedback from families whose kids have taken our courses, and adults who've joined our workshops.

"Alex played a key role in setting up the initial architecture, designing a clean and well-structured Angular frontend and establishing a solid Python backend foundation. Even though our team had almost no prior experience with Angular, the structure, naming conventions, and clarity he introduced made it surprisingly easy for us to step in, extend the codebase, and continue developing features on our own."

MH

Magnus H.

Software Architect

"I was particularly impressed by his ability to pick up new stuff and able to explain it to the team. Within a very short span of time Alex picked up the work and was also able to help the other senior resources in the team."

PT

Pragyan T.

Software Engineer

Pricing & Enrollment

Pricing by Course

Every course can be taken in a small group or as a private 1:1 session — 1:1 costs more per student but moves at your child's own pace and schedule. Adult workshops are priced per seat, with a flat rate for private team bookings. All prices in CHF and include materials.

Every course starts with a free trial class, and workshop dates are announced as they open up. .

FAQ

Common Questions

No prior coding experience is needed to begin! The entry-level track for ages 10–12 starts with block-based coding and algorithmic foundations in Scratch. From there, the curriculum progressively builds student skills as they transition into text-based Python programming for ages 12–15, and eventually advanced software engineering, data structures, and cloud DevOps for ages 14–18.
Enroll or Ask a Question

Get in Touch

Tell us your child's age and which course you're interested in, or ask about upcoming adult workshops.

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Text-Based Coding & Systems Program

Web Systems, APIs & Persistent Storage

Ages 14–15Advanced15 lessons · 60 min/lessonIn-person or online · small groups
This module expands student capabilities into full-stack web engineering and network architecture. Students examine internet infrastructure (DNS, IP, HTTP protocols) and consume live third-party REST APIs by parsing nested JSON data payloads in code. Learners design relational databases using SQLite and execute raw SQL queries (SELECT, JOIN, GROUP BY). They build backend servers using Flask or FastAPI to serve data endpoints, validate form inputs safely, prevent SQL injection, and manage code via Git and GitHub.

What They'll Learn

  • ✓HTTP Client-Server Protocol & REST APIs
  • ✓Relational Database Engineering (SQL & SQLite)
  • ✓Flask / FastAPI Web Backend Routing
  • ✓Full-Stack CRUD Application Flow
  • ✓Git Commands & GitHub Collaboration
Group SessionsCHF 450per student, small groups
1:1 IndividualCHF 980private, fully personalized pace