Master the Mainframe is here with us, thanks to IBM students have yet another chance to prove their capability. The company has unveiled the competition in Kenya to allow the Kenyan students to showcase their talent and explore future employment possibilities.
Through the contest, students learn everything from how to log onto mainframe environments to developing code and problem solving.
The master mainframe competition has no limitations as it is open to students from all Kenyan universities, has already attracted entries from students at local universities.
As a three-part contest which is taking place in a number of countries, Master the Mainframe serves as an introduction to programming and application development and students require no initial mainframe experience to participate.
“Mainframes have always been at the center of the global economy as well as the backbone of most cities infrastructures. Today, mainframes are growing in popularity as technology evolves, demanding more open, scalable and secure solutions and platforms for cloud, mobile and big data analytics,” said Felix Orondo, Team Leader for the Master the Mainframe initiative in Kenya.
The fact that 90 percent of the world’s data has been developed over the past few years will mean that advanced systems such as the mainframe continue to be critical tools of success for businesses, especially for those in growth markets such as Kenya.
Contestants in the Master the Mainframe competition will gain hands-on experience with a wide array of mainframe technologies, including REXX, Java and Linux on System among many others.
Students will be evaluated in each part of the competition and a reward will be given to any that proceeds to the next round which involves more challenges. The goal of the contest is to provide students with the mainframe skills necessary to find those unique and exciting jobs.
In 2013, IBM trained over 59,000 students worldwide on the mainframe.
Students who enter the competition also have the opportunity to identify job opportunities supporting mainframe environments. To help in this process, IBM has created Systemzjobs.com.
The job board is a resource to link IBM System z clients and partners with students and professionals seeking System z job opportunities and regularly features over 1,000 mainframe-related jobs.
The contest is open to students who are currently taking at least 3 school credits.
Students and teachers can register for the IBM Master the Mainframe Contest by clicking on ibm.com/university/contest
