About

Feeling shocked and helpless about the flood of images and news on the refugee crisis in 2012, founder Christian Hirsig, a sucessfull business innovator and young father, wondered how he could make a difference. Later, he met two other European entrepreneurs in the US: one with a catering project for refugees, the other one with a coding academy for women. Inspired by their projects and driven to help, the idea of Powercoders was born and launched by Christian and his wife Bettina Hirsig in 2016. The mission was clear from the start: help displaced people regain their independence, reduce social welfare costs and address the shortage of talent in the IT industry.

The first Powercoders program started in Bern in the beginning of 2017 with an overwhelming amount of promising applicants, volunteers participating as Job Coaches and IT trainers, and with many enthusiastic IT companies offering internships.

After an incredible start, the Powercoders community kept on growing with programs launched in Zurich, Lausanne, and Basel. Eventually, the model was shifted towards having permanent programs in Zurich and Lausanne, in order to serve the communities in the Romandie and German-speaking part of Switzerland. During the pandemic, the team decided to integrate the two locations, blending remote and on-site learning, and serve the entire Switzerland with one offering.

Milestones

Watch Our 5-Year-Video

Watch the TEDx Talk by Christian Hirsig

What
Guides
us.

Team

We are a team of passionate individuals, eager to create impact together. We believe in the power of collaboration and the benefits of working together towards a common goal. As an agile team, we are able to adapt and change quickly in order to achieve our objectives. Impact is at the heart of everything we do, and it is what drives us to be better every day. We also believe that work should be fun and enjoyable, and we strive to create a positive and supportive environment for everyone on our team.

By working together, we can achieve more than we ever could alone, and we are committed to making a positive impact in the world.

  • Bettina Hirsig

    Lead Powercoders / Business Development

  • Christina Gräni

    Company Relations Romandie

  • Hany Wassef

    Company Relations Deutschschweiz

  • Linus Murbach

    Program Manager

  • Lucy Jager

    Futurecoders / HR & Finance

  • Portrait of Romain Geiser, Company Relations Manager / Futurecoders

    Romain Geiser

    Company Relations Manager / Futurecoders

  • Stacy von Cranach

    Impact Initiatives Lead

  • Sunita Asnani

    Social Council / Communications Associate

  • Portrait of Susanne König, Training & Talent Development

    Susanne König

    Training & Talent Development Lead

  • Ya’ara Segal

    Job Coaching Lead & Volunteer Coordinator

Board

  • Bettina Hirsig

    Lead Powercoders / Business Development

  • Christian Hirsig

    Founder / Board Member

  • Hannes Gassert

    Industry Council

  • Portrait of Lynn Blattmann, President of Powercoders

    Lynn Blattmann

    President

  • Sunita Asnani

    Social Council / Communications Associate

Click here to see our volunteers.

Do you have questions?

Check out our FAQ’s here.

Feel free to get in touch with us if you have more questions or ideas. We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Press

Read what the press says about us: