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By Kodee Hi everyone! April brought exciting community news with the announcement of the Golden Kodee finalists, along with Kotlin and tooling releases, multiplatform progress, and fresh backend resources. I also came across the new Kotlin Professional Certificate on LinkedIn Learning, which is a great way to build your skills. And if you want something more playful, I found a fun way to practice coroutines. Here are the stories that stood out to me most.
Kodee-Approved Spotlight KotlinConf 2026 is almost here KotlinConf 2026 is just around the corner, and the excitement is definitely building. On May 20–22, more than 2,000 Kotlin developers from around the world will gather in Munich to share ideas, learn from each other, and connect. If you cannot make it in person, you can still join online – the conference will be livestreamed on the Kotlin YouTube channel. I'll be there in Munich, but I definitely recommend tuning in to catch the key announcements and talks as they happen. Join KotlinConf | | Golden Kodee finalists The Golden Kodee finalists have been announced! The top three nominees in each category will be invited to KotlinConf in Munich, where one winner in each category will receive a Golden Kodee award. It is a great way to celebrate people who share knowledge, organize events, inspire others, and help grow the Kotlin community. Meet the finalists | | Kotlin release updates April brought two Kotlin release updates. Kotlin 2.4.0-Beta2 offers an early look at what's coming next across the language, the standard library, the JVM, Kotlin/Native, and the compiler. Kotlin 2.3.21 focuses on performance improvements and bug fixes for the 2.3 release. See what's new in Kotlin 2.4.0-Beta2 | | IntelliJ IDEA 2026.1 IntelliJ IDEA 2026.1 brings improvements that many Kotlin developers will notice in their daily work. From general performance enhancements to better language and framework support, this release is a strong ecosystem update and an important part of the Kotlin developer experience. Explore the release | | Helping Decision-Makers Say Yes to Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) Adopting Kotlin Multiplatform is easier when the business value is clear. I found this guest post from Touchlab useful because it explains how KMP can improve delivery speed, reduce risk, and support long-term product strategy. Read the post | | KotlinConf'26 Speakers: In Conversation With Lena Reinhard Ahead of KotlinConf'26, I found this interview with Lena Reinhard interesting because it explores what it means to build a career in tech today, especially when old promises no longer feel certain. It covers leadership, uncertainty, the productivity debate in the age of AI, and the human side of our industry. Read the interview | | Kotlin Professional Certificate by JetBrains on LinkedIn Learning Looking to build your Kotlin skills? The Kotlin Professional Certificate by JetBrains is now available on LinkedIn Learning. In less than 12 hours, you can go through four courses, pass the final exam, and earn a certificate you can share on your LinkedIn profile. Start learning | | Koog updates for the JVM ecosystem Koog had a busy month, and I found these two updates useful for JVM developers. First, Koog now offers an idiomatic Java API, making it easier for Java teams to build agent workflows. Second, Koog integrates with Spring AI, helping Kotlin and Spring-based projects use Koog in a familiar setup. Explore Koog's Java API | | | | |
