The National Academy for Software Development (NASD) is a center for professional training at the Bulgarian Association of Software Developers. Thorough software development courses and training in modern software technologies are being held in the Academy. The courses are designed to teach the students in practical software development including strong technical as well as engineering skills.
The foundations of the National Academy for Software Development were laid due to the increasing demand of highly-qualified software specialists having real professional background.
The institutions of higher education and universities in Bulgaria, caring out courses for software development offer a good basic education, but there is a lack of practical training with the result that young people find it impossible to realize themselves in this area. Therefore schools and universities are not enough for a student to become a good specialist who can cover the need for such experts in the software industry.
The Academy aims at providing highly-qualified practical training in software development and modern software technologies (Java, .NET, etc.), available for a wide range of young people who already possess the basic skills and knowledge.
The education duration is either three months full time (8 hours a day, and 5 days a week) or 4 months evening-and-weekend time (2 times weekly + 2 Saturdays and Sundays monthly). It is held under the supervision and according to the instructions of professionals who have many years experience. The reason for the Academy to choose such an intensive course is to prepare young people for a further decision making and coping with real problems. The tuition includes all training aids, tests, textbooks and other materials.
The Academy is responsible for finding a job in a software company and usually finds an employer for the applicants before starting the tuition. The employer signs a labor contract with the applicant for a fixed period and pays the training fees. After graduation the student has enough skills to successfully join to the employer’s company.
