Meet our team: Tarig, super-teacher and coding-hero at Le Wagon Dubai

As far as I remember, I’ve always been passionate about the way technologies could empower anyone to create meaningful projects. My first favourite show was Knight Rider starring K.I.T.T., a smart car able to speak and interact with Michael (the human hero). I wanted to have that car so bad as a kid! I was obsessed with the idea that something that powerful could exist. Later on, I discovered other Sci-Fi shows such as Star Trek, Space: 1999, and so on.... This is how my willingness to work in technology started. 

Back then, all that seemed far-fetched, and nowadays it actually looks feasible. More than ever, I want to contribute to the building of that kind of World, it’s my kid’s dream. 

First, I studied Business Engineering at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. After graduating, I knew I wanted to work towards something that solves meaningful problems. 

One that seriously disturbs me, is the one of biases in the decision making processes which involve human interactions. In organisations it is omnipresent; when recruiting, training, empowering, so on and so forth. It is known to seriously harm the sustainability of the latter, and to this day there is no efficient way to solve it. 

I then narrowed down my focus to the training processes in companies and quickly understood that Sales Leaders yearn for more efficiency in that area. They want to coach more, better, and faster, while making sure they sustain an inclusive culture (that's without mentioning the current pandemic situation). BOOM! 

Companies need help to deal with it, they would require the superpowers of K.I.T.T. applied to that field. 

But still... I had a major issue. I didn’t know how to build a replica of K.I.I.T.. That is when I heard of a coding bootcamp where I would learn to build an MVP myself, in only 9 weeks. 

At first, I couldn’t believe it. Given my lack of affinity with programming. And 2 months later, AMDApi was ‘born’ (I named in honour of the first developer; ADA Lovelace who was a woman).

AMDApi is the first Virtual Assistant that helps Sales Leaders and their teams automatically extract powerful insights from customer interactions over the phone. This Intelligence facilitates the teams’ skills development, helping Leaders make highly targeted and real-time coaching. 

➢ Check Tarig’s project: AMDA the virtual sales assistant

Right after attending Le Wagon Brussel’s bootcamp in fall 2018, Ana, the bootcamp driver, asked me to join the team and I did not hesitate. 

I was trained by la crème de la crème, teachers who are able to do amazing tricks. After a couple of months, I’ve become teacher at Le Wagon Brussels and being a member of this international community opened so many doors to me. 

When Charlotte, Dubai’s driver, was looking for teachers to launch the first batch in the UAE, I did not hesitate (once again).
Here I am, in the middle of a vibrant startup ecosystem, where the wildest dreams seem possible while doing something I enjoy very much.

Attending the bootcamp has nothing to do with a regular learning track, one has to assimilate knowledge fast and apply it to build something real, day in and day out for 9 weeks. Being part of it is amazing.

Anyone can do it 

Everyone has the power to code. As a Teacher, I feel like my mission is to make sure it happens in an atmosphere that fosters confidence and growth. 

I’ve had students with a wide range of backgrounds, and it makes absolutely no difference. They all ended up being able to build a Web App by the end of the bootcamp. The process is so well designed, that eventually it’s all about building a trustful relationship with the students. 

So far, I’ve realised that coding is the ability to efficiently write a structured process of thoughts. Then the better the code, the easier it is to share. 

During the bootcamp, there is this first part when I teach the syntax of a language, and very quickly it is all about what to do with it. That’s when I am exposed to the students’ processes of thoughts. Navigating through it, finding the knots, and helping them figure out how to quickly untie them, is something I particularly enjoy. 

It helps me strengthen my communication skills, in a way I would have never conceived. 

Teaching, to me, is all about connecting with the others, while making them have as many ‘AHA’ moments as possible. It is about leading the students to figure out what is their own way of solving a problem. 

It’s a subtle art where one always has to find the right amount of information to give and then wait for the magic to happen. From a student to another, that balance is completely different, which is a stimulating challenge.

One thing about Le Wagon, that is deeply anchored in the culture, is the feedback process. Typical from a good Design, and that you find in everything that grows well. I rely a lot on it to progress. The praising feedbacks grow my confidence, and the constructively critical ones guide me as per what needs to be improved. 

So far, most students seem to enjoy my ability to connect with their struggles and take them out of it without dictating how. Hence, I’d say my ability to empathize. 

In the end, the community is so big (8000+ alumni), if one wants to know what makes Le Wagon’s teachers so good, the best way is to get in touch. Everyone is very approachable, open, and keen to help (which is one of the most amazing thing about developers).