Cegeka Level Up Program: Inside our QA Automation curriculum

After launching our first Cegeka Level Up Program, we wanted to take a moment to share not just what we covered, but why we chose this structure in the first place.

The goal was clear: help manual QA professionals take the first step into automation. But we knew we couldn’t just jump straight into writing test scripts or learning tools. We had to start with the right foundation and build up in a way that actually made sense.

That’s why we began with Computer Science fundamentals: basic concepts like logic, control flow, variables, and how code works behind the scenes. Many QA professionals don’t come from a software engineering background, and this module gave everyone a common starting point.

From there, we moved into Java. It’s one of the most widely used languages in test automation, and we chose it not just for its popularity, but for its structure. Learning Java helped participants understand core programming concepts and object-oriented thinking, both of which are key when designing scalable, maintainable test scripts.

Once the basics of coding were in place, we introduced Maven and dependency management, because real-world projects rely on tools, libraries, and proper project structure. It was important to show how tests fit into a larger ecosystem, not just as isolated scripts.

Next came Git and GitHub, not just because version control is industry standard, but because collaboration is a big part of working in cross-functional teams. Being able to manage your code, track changes, and contribute to a shared repository is critical in any modern development environment.

Then we got hands-on with Selenium WebDriver, introducing both the basics and more advanced interactions. This was the most practical part of the journey, writing actual tests, interacting with elements, and dealing with dynamic content. All the theory and setup until that point made this part smoother and more meaningful.

We ended with a final project that brought everything together. Participants had the chance to apply what they’d learned in a small but complete automation framework, a practical, personal achievement that showed just how far they’d come.

The structure of the program wasn’t accidental. It followed a clear learning path, from principles to tools to practice, designed to be approachable, realistic, and directly applicable to everyday QA work.

And there was another layer to it. This wasn’t just about growing our own people. We included client teams too. Because at Cegeka, we don’t just think about the business impact today, we think about long-term sustainability. By helping our clients grow alongside us, we create stronger delivery partnerships and more resilient teams.

This program wouldn’t have been possible without our collaboration with 4MAYO Academy. From day one, they helped shape the curriculum, ensuring it was aligned with real market needs and focused on practical outcomes. A big part of the program’s success is thanks to Diana, QA Trainer at 4MAYO Academy, who led the sessions with a clear, hands-on approach that made even the most technical topics feel accessible. Her experience in technical education and her no-nonsense, practical teaching style played a huge role in making the program effective and engaging for everyone involved.

Cegeka also held two QA Automation workshop sessions with the help of Catalin, Senior QA Automation at Cegeka Romania. The first session focused on helping QA engineers with beginner level programming skills, create a new UI test automation framework from scratch - with a strong focus on cucumber, selenium webdriver framework backbone, page object model, CSS and XPath queries,  scalability and how to overcome possible future challenges. The second session focused on bringing the knowledge from the first session into mobile UI test automation for Android devices, using Appium and Cucumber while also starting from scratch and scaling up. QA engineers learned about the specifics of mobile device app testing and how to approach UI test automation for native Android applications.

With curious minds, we always act a step ahead. And as we continue to shape digital together, this kind of structured, thoughtful upskilling is how we keep moving forward together.