Lyza Education: The Story Behind CodeLab and CodeSpace

Lyza Education CEO Lizhang working on the platform development work

As both an entrepreneur and a software engineer, Lizhang has always been passionate about coding and staying up to date with the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence. This passion led him to set up Lyza Education, where our mission is to make coding and AI accessible, engaging, and relevant for young learners.

In this blog interview, we have a talk with him to discussed what has changed and evolved at Lyza Education for the past two years, and a sneak peak to what could be in store in the next few months!

What inspired you to develop CodeLab and CodeSpace as part of its all-in-one Lyza platform that allows students to create, code, and store their projects?

At Lyza Education, our mission has always been to provide the best coding learning experience for students. Our in-house developed platforms are purpose-built for Lyza, giving us the flexibility to design every feature around our structured curriculum. Unlike generic third-party tools, we can adapt quickly to the evolving needs of our students and educators, ensuring a seamless learning experience.

Many parents are often a little unsure when I mention on platforms, so I will take the opportunity to share briefly on it here. CodeLab began as an idea sparked by our students’ love for Kebbi, our iconic robot. We wanted kids to experience the thrill of writing code that directly controls a physical companion. The inspiration originally came from a similar platform developed by Nuwa Robotics in Taiwan. However, after using it, I realised it didn’t fully meet the needs of our Singapore students.

So, we reimagined and built an improved version - CodeLab by Lyza. Today, it offers more than just block-based coding. Students can:

• Tap into GenAI with knowledge base integration

• Train Machine Learning models and integrate with CodeLab

• Connect to IoT devices

• Run code instantly with QR codes, and more.

This ensures kids aren’t just learning coding, they are exploring real-world applications of AI and robotics.

One of our students coding Python on our in-house platform

CodeSpace, on the other hand, was almost an accidental discovery. In our Coders series, we first introduced students to Python through Replit, an online coding platform. Back then, Replit’s free plan gave us ample cloud storage. But as the platform shifted its pricing model and limited free use, we faced a challenge: how could we continue offering a smooth Python coding experience to our students?

The answer was to build CodeSpace - our very own cloud-based Python coding environment fully integrated into the Lyza platform. And in hindsight, it turned out to be a blessing. Unlike Replit, CodeSpace gives us full control, and more importantly, allows parents to see their child’s work - whether in CodeLab or CodeSpace - conveniently in one place.

How does CodeLab, as a block-based coding tool featured in Lyza’s structured programmes for ages 7-9, prepare students for transitioning into cloud-based environments like CodeSpace?

At Lyza Education, we believe that coding should feel like a natural progression, not a sudden leap. That is why our structured programmes for ages 7-9 begin with CodeLab, our block-based coding environment, to build strong foundations through play and more interactive projects, before students move on to CodeSpace, a more advanced, text-based coding environment.

In what ways does CodeSpace improve accessibility and eliminate technical setup barriers compared to local environments, especially for young learners?

We do note that not all parents are tech-savvy and may face issues on even installing software. For example, while preparing for the IDE Code Builder 2025 competition, I have heard queries from parents asking on how they could install Scratch onto their child’s laptops, so I think as technology evolves, we have also gotten too comfortable with it.

The advantage of it would be that our web-based platform supports coding development work all without installing any specialised software. We would like students to first focus on picking up coding concepts, rather than the more technical items like “How to install certain packages”, where such skills can be picked up when they are older.

How does Lyza’s student portfolio platform complement CodeSpace by enabling students to showcase their cloud-based work?

CodeSpace gives students the tools to create, while the Lyza portfolio platform gives them the stage to shine in future pathways in tech, innovation, and leadership.

1. Turning Code into Achievements

CodeSpace allows students to write and run Python code directly in the cloud. Every project - whether it’s a simple game, an AI-powered chatbot, or a data analysis mini-project - can be securely saved to the student’s Lyza account. With the portfolio platform, these works are automatically collected, organised, and presented as a showcase of growth over time.

One of our student's work while attending a L303 Introduction to Python lesson

2. A Living Record Beyond Lyza

The portfolio doesn’t just stop at attending classes at Lyza Education. As students progress, their collection of projects evolves into a living digital resume - something they can carry into secondary school, polytechnic, or even competitions and scholarship applications. Parents and educators also gain visibility, making it easier to guide and celebrate each milestone.

One example on how the platform supports our students' learning by having their digital certificates, lesson summaries and an end-of-course evaluation

It does seem that you do like extending the “Code” series, from CodeLab to CodeSpace. Looking ahead, what future enhancements are planned for Lyza’s platform?

We do have some plans, where more updates are expected to be released sometime in Term 4.