Intern notebook: getting started with Mendix Academy as a noncoder

Mendix is often praised for being one of the best low-code development platforms in the market. It was named a leader in the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for multiexperience development platforms and enterprise low-code application platforms. The Mendix promise is that anyone can become a citizen developer, creating apps for personal use up through implementation in an industrial work environment.

I am a marketing student at Eastern Michigan University and have been interning at Siemens since the beginning of summer 2021. Here are just a few notes on my experience, as someone with no programming background, using Mendix Academy to learning the basics of low code.

For starters, I was surprised by how easy it was to get started and make progress. Mendix Academy routes users through different self-paced learning paths, from beginner to expert. Each instructional step is clearly explained and supplemented with images and other material. Here are a few examples:

Along the way on each path, you test what you have added to your app to make sure it works before moving on.

Again, I was a relative newbie to programming, so certain elements of the module were initially confusing. One erroneous word or bit of syntax can snarl everything. For example, when working on the microflows of the app I was building – this is where I got to write out the code – I forgot the simple word ‘and’ in the code and the entire microflow would not work.

But in the end, when testing the whole thing together, the sequential steps and checks become clear. The result: I not only learned something new but was satisfied with what I was able to create, a basic app for managing and prioritizing tasks and checking if they were completed on time.

Overall, Mendix Academy is a great resource. For me, some paths took longer than the estimated time –  not surprising given I just jumped in headfirst. Given all the attention and investment in this space, and the promise of a coming era of democratized app development, it was worthwhile to try this out and test the claims of low-code enthusiasts. Try it out today and see if you can build an app to help your colleagues or even just your daily workflows.

Mendix is one of many software’s available through the student program at Siemens you can find the rest here. For further information on Siemens student programs and career opportunities please check them out here.