SheCanCODE Program
Advanced Backend Development
Advanced • 16 Weeks
Overview
What is the Advanced Backend Development Program?
Under Igire Rwanda Organization (IRO), SheCanCODE presents the Advanced Backend Development Program, an intensive 16-week learning experience designed for Youth exepecialy for young women who already have a strong foundation in Java and want to advance toward mid-level backend engineering roles.
Delivered under the Digital Skills for Employability (DSE) initiative, supported by the Mastercard Foundation and Digital Opportunity Trust, this program focuses on real-world software engineering practices through hands-on projects, industry-standard tools, and advanced backend development. Participants will deepen their understanding of enterprise Java development, modern software architecture, testing strategies, cloud-native development, microservices, DevOps practices, system performance optimization, and secure application development.
Sessions combine both fundamental and advanced learning which are held every Monday To Friday from 8:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Participants are expected to fully commit, actively collaborate, and build production-ready solutions throughout the program.
The program is divided into three phases: Foundations Recap (Weeks 1–5), Intermediate (Weeks 6–12), and Advanced & Career Readiness (Weeks 13–16). You'll complete individual capstone projects at Week 5 and Week 12 and a group capstone in Weeks 13–16.
For more information about the Digital Skills for Employability initiative, please visit the DSE Program.
Who Can Apply
Requirements & Qualifications
To qualify for the Advanced Backend Development program, applicants must meet the following criteria:
Young women with advanced Java programming knowledge
University graduate or final-year university student
Passionate about backend engineering, distributed systems, and scalable applications
Rwandan citizen (Refugees and Persons with Disabilities are encouraged to apply)
Available to fully commit to the 16-week intensive program
Able to attend in-person sessions daily
Passionate about backend engineering, distributed systems, and scalable applications
Able to communicate effectively in English
Actively seeking employment or career growth in software engineering
Age between 18 to 35 years
What You Get
Program Benefits
Selected participants receive the following benefits:
Free training under the DSE Program
Monthly stipend during the program
Hands-on real-world backend engineering projects
Industry mentorship and code reviews
Career readiness and job placement support
Exposure to enterprise software engineering practices
Access to a strong Women in Tech network
Program Structure
How the 16 Weeks Are Structured
Three clear phases take you from intermediate to job-ready backend engineer.
Foundations Recap
Git, Java syntax, OOP, Collections, Multithreading, SQL, JDBC, and your first individual capstone project.
Intermediate
Spring Boot, REST APIs, Security, JWT, OAuth2, file uploads, notifications, and your second individual capstone.
Advanced & Career
DevOps, Docker, CI/CD, deployment, and a group capstone project. Demo Day & Graduation in Week 16.
Specializations
Two Paths Within Backend Engineering To Master
Throughout the program you'll develop expertise across both specialization areas, with the flexibility to go deeper in your chosen direction.
Path A
Core Engineering
Deepen your understanding of Java internals, concurrency, data structures, and algorithms. This path prepares you for technical interviews and system design challenges.
Career targets
Path B
Cloud & DevOps
Focus on microservices architecture, containerization with Docker, CI/CD pipelines with Jenkins, and cloud deployment on AWS/Azure. This path prepares you for DevOps and cloud engineering roles.
Career targets
Curriculum
Week-by-Week Breakdown (16 Weeks / 88 Days)
Three phases: Foundations (Weeks 1–5), Intermediate (Weeks 6–12), Advanced & Career Readiness (Weeks 13–16). Click any week to expand the full topic list.
Foundations Recap
Git, Java syntax, OOP, Collections, Multithreading, SQL, JDBC. Individual capstone at Week 5.
Intermediate
Spring Boot, REST APIs, Security, JWT, OAuth2, file uploads. Individual capstone at Week 12.
Advanced & Career Readiness
DevOps, Docker, CI/CD, deployment. Group capstone project. Demo Day & Graduation.
Week by Week
Full Curriculum
Java, OOP, Spring Boot, SQL, DevOps · Weeks 1–16
Skills You'll Master Backend Track
Git & GitHub for version control & collaboration
Java syntax, OOP, collections, generics, multithreading
OOP inheritance, encapsulation, polymorphism, interfaces
SQL & PostgreSQL database design, queries, CRUD
JDBC & DAO pattern for database access
Spring Boot REST APIs, DI, JPA, Security
Spring Security & JWT authentication
OAuth2 & role-based access control
JPA/Hibernate & database integration
File upload, email & notification services
Docker containerization
CI/CD & cloud deployment
Program Total
16
Weeks
88
Days
240
Hours
1,600
Points
Graduation
What It Takes to Graduate
Graduates earn a Certificate in Advanced Backend Development with industry-aligned skills.
240 Clock Hours
Minimum attendance across all sessions.
90% Attendance
Tracked digitally via LMS and attendance logs.
3 Capstone Projects
Two individual capstones (Weeks 5 & 12) and one group capstone (Weeks 13–16).
All Project Submissions
Every coding exercise and project must be completed.
Code of Conduct
Academic integrity and professional standards upheld.
Demo Day Presentation
Present your final capstone project to a panel.
Career Pathways
Where This Program Takes You
Graduates are prepared for mid-level backend engineering roles with hands-on experience in enterprise Java, Spring Boot, and cloud technologies.
Backend Developer (Java)
Build enterprise-grade APIs and server-side systems with Spring Boot and SQL.
Java Developer
Develop and maintain Java-based applications following industry best practices.
API Engineer
Design and implement RESTful APIs with authentication, validation, and documentation.
DevOps Engineer
Manage CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and cloud infrastructure for backend systems.
Software Engineer
Work across the full software development lifecycle with a focus on backend and system design.
Cloud Engineer
Deploy and manage applications on AWS/Azure with Docker, Kubernetes, and infrastructure as code.
Enrollment
How to Enroll
Visit the SheCanCODE Application Portal and complete the official application form to secure your place in the Advanced Backend Development program.