Benjamin Block
Ben Block has been a software engineer for the better part of a decade. He has worked with several startups and large organizations, building custom software to address new business initiatives, enter new markets, and disrupt existing ones.
His clients and projects have included global product companies, trade associations, and government institutions; a last-mile logistics platform, a women-focused digital talent marketplace, and a hospitality and sales management system, among others. Unafraid of tackling complex problems, Ben joined ScaleDown in 2015 as VP of Engineering to help automate a clinically-proven personalized weight management and behavior change program. Enviable growth, profitability, and impressive user outcomes led to a successful acquisition by Anthem Insurance just a few years later. Since then, Ben has continued working with startups, supporting them through early growth and fundraising stages.
Before learning to code, Ben began his career in business development and operations - experience which equips him with unique insight into the perspectives and concerns of non-technical stakeholders. He knows first-hand that engineering decisions can be confusing. So he prides himself on transparency and helping stakeholders prioritize the best implementation for their needs and budget.
Despite a busy schedule, he always finds time to mentor others on their journeys into software development and tech entrepreneurship. He lives in Chicago with his wife and 2 rescue dogs.
Introduction to Software Development (ENTR-451-0)
This course is geared to provide technical literacy for non-programmers who will be founders, employees, or consultants to "tech-enabled" organizations. This is a survey-style course that is very hands-on - students will learn the essentials of coding by creating websites and basic software applications that manipulate data and work across today's platforms and devices. Students will: * Build their own website and deploy it on a variety of platforms, including tablets and mobile devices, using modern web development tools and techniques * Achieve working proficiency with the web programming languages and related open-source technologies, using it to build simple web applications * Gain exposure to open-source business initiatives from Facebook, Google, and other major contributors to the languages and frameworks shaping modern software development * Learn to manipulate and consume data with SQL, open datasets, and APIs Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours a week on coding projects and take-home exercises. There is no final exam. All students must have a modern Mac or Windows computer for completing homework and in-class projects. Detailed instructions on setup will be provided prior to the first day of class.
Programming Design (DSGN-425-0)
This course is entirely project- driven. Students will build a series of applications together. The class will start with a simple idea and learn just what¿s needed about various technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to make that idea real. The idea starts simple and moves to a more complicated idea using technology. Building functional prototypes of an idea using the Ruby on Rails web application Framework
