Artem Verbovikov

Artem Verbovikov has a dream, to travel around the world working as a freelance Flash developer. However after working in Russia for a year, his dream stalled. “Every project I had been working on had a problem with server-side programming.” Artem explains “I didn’t want to employ someone else to perform this work, so I decided to learn the full web development process myself.”

This decision brought about the opportunity of studying overseas and had the enviable task of choosing which country to adopt. New Zealand became Artem’s first choice; “It is perfect for living and working, with all the sport activities, beautiful nature and of course, the ocean”. Within Auckland, he found five or six good schools offering web development courses but chose Natcoll and its Diploma of Web Development due to it being a short and intensive course with tutors that are the “gurus of their area” and the campus being located in the heart of Auckland.

Artem now works as a Flex Developer for Futurtech, a new Rich Internet Applications development company in Auckland. This involves everything from user interface design to ActionScript and MXML programming. “Every day is different.” The training he received at Natcoll gave Artem a very strong base and prepared him for all aspects of the industry. “I learnt the full website development process from design to database programming, team development, New Zealand market features and soft skills.”

Artem would recommend Natcoll to everybody. “It was an awesome year of my life. I made a lot of new friends in a new country, and now have a great job! Thanks Natcoll!”