I’ve been a computer enthusiast for as long as I can remember. When I was just five years old, I was already fascinated by anything that had a keyboard or a screen. While other kids were playing outside, I was the one sitting in front of a computer, exploring its settings, fixing small software issues, and doing simple IT support tasks without even knowing that’s what they were.

After finishing my baccalauréat, I decided to follow the path I had always been passionate about. I joined Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University to study Computer Science. My first steps in web development started there: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Day after day, I became more absorbed in it. Over the next three years, I expanded my skills by learning modern frameworks, backend technologies, and full-stack development.

During this period, I also started taking freelance projects, which became my daily source of income. Each project pushed me to learn more, improve faster, and understand real-world client needs.

After earning my licence degree, I landed my first job — not as a web developer, but as a mobile developer, a field where I grew quickly and discovered new dimensions of software creation. At the same time, I continued my studies and pursued a Master’s in Information Systems Engineering, which allowed me to go deeper into system design, enterprise software, and advanced development practices.

While working and studying, I also created my first startup: Intellinguo, an innovative project in the field of English for Specific Purposes. This opened my eyes to product creation, management, and the challenges of building something from scratch.

As I progressed in my career, I worked from company to company, project to project, gaining experience, discipline, and a wider technical vision. Eventually, with partners who shared the same ambition and mindset, we founded a tech company called Elaris, where we take on client projects and build impactful digital solutions.

From a curious kid exploring computers at age five, to a full-stack and mobile developer, startup founder, and tech entrepreneur — every step has been driven by the same passion that started it all: creating, learning, and building technology that matters.

My Beginnings in Programming 🖥️

When I started my university journey in Computer Science, everything felt new, exciting… and honestly, a bit confusing. I was passionate about technology, but I hadn’t yet found a clear direction. Then, in 2020, everything changed. With the sudden arrival of COVID-19, classes stopped, the world paused, and like many others, I found myself at home — searching for purpose, structure, and motivation.

In that silence, I looked at myself and asked: What do I really want to do in tech?

That’s when my real journey began.

During the quarantine, I decided to take control of my learning. I started exploring different online platforms like Udemy, Udacity, and YouTube. One course led to another, and little by little, I started understanding the foundations of web development. I practiced HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, spending hours every day implementing everything I learned — directly, immediately, and with determination.

I wasn’t just watching tutorials. I was applying them:

building small websites,

experimenting with UI layouts,

trying backend basics,

and improving with every mistake.

What started as simple curiosity became a real passion. The quarantine, despite being a difficult time for the world, became the turning point where I transformed from a lost student into a dedicated self-taught developer — someone who learns, builds, and grows every single day.

The World of Technical Communities & Hackathons 🚀

During my university years, something important happened: I realized that learning alone was not enough — I wanted to share, teach, and build a community around technology. That desire led me to co-found the Codin Scientific Club, a space where students passionate about development, design, and technology could learn together, collaborate, and grow.

Inside the club, I organized and led several development workshops, helping students discover web technologies, programming logic, and modern tools. Teaching others didn’t just help them — it strengthened my own understanding and sparked a love for community-driven learning.

As the club grew, I started participating in different tech events, connecting with developers from other cities and expanding my network. One of the most impactful events was Khotwa, an inspiring gathering where students and professionals shared experiences, career paths, and vision. It gave me the confidence to push further.

With this momentum, I began joining hackathons in multiple cities across Algeria:

• Tlemcen — where I experienced the intensity of rapid prototyping and teamwork.

• Oran — learning how to pitch ideas and transform problems into solutions.

• Sidi Bel Abbès (ESI SBA) — the most recent and memorable one, held at the École Supérieure d’Informatique. There, I met brilliant minds, formed new connections, and exchanged valuable knowledge with people who shared the same passion for tech and innovation.

Every event taught me something new — not just about software, but about people, collaboration, and leadership. Moving from city to city, meeting new developers, and sharing knowledge strengthened my belief that technology grows faster when we grow together as a community.

Being part of this ecosystem — from founding Codin to participating in national hackathons — shaped me both as a developer and as a person. It showed me the power of networks, teamwork, and continuous learning, and it remains one of the most enriching experiences in my journey.

My First Steps in Khotwa Events 🎤

My journey with Khotwa Events began in a way I never expected. What started as a simple participation quickly evolved into an opportunity to contribute, share, and lead. Throughout the events, I had the privilege of guiding multiple conferences, each one allowing me to connect with students, creators, and young professionals eager to explore the future of technology.

In 2023, I led a session focused on computer vision, where I introduced its core concepts, real-world applications, and the advantages it brings to industries like healthcare, security, retail, and automation. I explained how machines interpret visual data, how models learn through image processing, and why computer vision has become one of the most transformative branches of artificial intelligence. The audience was fascinated by its potential, especially in areas such as facial recognition, autonomous systems, and smart quality control in manufacturing.

By 2025, I returned to Khotwa with another conference—this time centered on the back-end development life cycle. During this talk, I broke down the journey of a back-end system from the initial planning phase to deployment and maintenance. I discussed architectural choices, API design principles, database structures, performance optimization, security layers, scalability strategies, and the importance of clean code and robust documentation. The goal was to show how back-end engineering forms the invisible backbone of every digital product and why mastering it opens the door to powerful, scalable solutions.

These experiences at Khotwa not only strengthened my communication and leadership skills but also helped me grow as a tech educator, turning each conference into a space where knowledge, curiosity, and innovation came together.

Sharing Knowledge 🧠

I’ve always liked sharing my knowledge. I often give small courses or mentoring to friends, students, or companies. When questions arise from them is when I learn the most, because sometimes these questions may seem simple and the answers are something we take for granted, but perhaps we don’t fully understand why it is so. This pushes us to:

• Deepen our understanding of concepts
• Understand them better
• Transform them into something that can be taught clearly and practically

Grounding knowledge is, for me, the bridge between knowing and teaching.

Programming Mentoring 💻

Since 2021, I have been actively engaged in mentoring numerous students and aspiring developers in their pursuit of a programming career. Given that most of them were at the early stages of their learning journey, I began by establishing a solid foundation in core web technologies:

HTML

CSS

JavaScript (fundamentals)

As their understanding progressed, the mentorship naturally expanded to include modern development tools and advanced technologies, such as:

React

React Native

Express.js

and various other JavaScript frameworks and libraries commonly used in contemporary software development.

I consistently strive to deliver guidance in a manner that reflects how I would have preferred to learn—structured, practical, and focused on conceptual clarity. This teaching approach has enabled students to grasp and apply concepts that were previously unclear to them in traditional academic settings, resulting in strong and measurable progress.

What’s Next… 🚀

Over the past years, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with several companies, teams, and organizations—each experience sharpening my technical skills, expanding my vision, and strengthening my passion for building meaningful digital solutions. These experiences have shown me how technology can transform industries, empower communities, and accelerate innovation when applied with purpose and creativity.

As I look toward the future, I am committed to going even further. I aim to take on new challenges, join forward-thinking teams, and contribute to projects that push the boundaries of what technology can achieve. I am particularly motivated to explore opportunities within startups, where agility, impact, and innovation come together to create solutions that truly make a difference.

Whether contributing to an ambitious product, helping a company scale its technology, or launching a new idea from the ground up, I am ready to embrace the next chapter with enthusiasm, discipline, and a drive for excellence.

A Bit More About Me ☕

In 2025, I continue advancing in my career while collaborating with diverse clients and developing projects that challenge me creatively and technically. I thrive on building, experimenting, and envisioning new possibilities. I carry a maker’s mindset—curiosity, initiative, and a willingness to learn from every experience.

Beyond technology, I value the human side of creation: teamwork, shared ideas, growth, and the occasional spark of chaos that leads to innovation. And of course, everything works better with good music and great coffee.

I’m Mohamed El Khalil Beneddra, and I thank you for reading this.

Let’s Create Amazing Things! 🚀