Students get platform to fuel ICT creativity
JAMAICAN students now have an opportunity to indulge their interest in information and communication technology, courtesy of the BlackBerry Developers Competition, dubbed App.ti.tude.
The competition, which opened last Wednesday, offers youngsters from the primary through tertiary level of the education system the chance to design and, if selected, implement applications for either the BlackBerry Smartphone or the BlackBerry Playbook.
Participants in the competition — spearheaded by the Ministry of Education and Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian company that developed the BlackBerry product line — should submit their ideas electronically to www.bbdevelopers.gov.jm by June 30. Winners will be announced on August 19.
“Jamaica is looking into serious ways in which we can drive growth in our country… What we are trying to do with this competition is to say to our youngsters… ‘technology makes life easier, I want you to use your creativity to create a product that can be sold on a market’,” noted education minister Andrew Holness, speaking at the launch of the competition, held at the Wyndham Kingston Hotel.
He added that in 2012, the global application market will value approximately US$17.5 billion and that he wants to see Jamaican students among the players of this industry. There is great promise, the minister said, in the information and communication technology field, offering the chance for not only economic gains, but also social change.
Meanwhile, the winning team from the primary school category will be awarded special gift bags, plaques and individual medals while their coach will receive a BlackBerry Torch. First, second and third-place winners from secondary and tertiary school categories will receive BlackBerry smartphones, ranging from the Gemini to the Curve and the Bold.
The overall winning team will be awarded with the Best in Show Award and will receive an all-expense paid trip to the annual RIM Conference in San Francisco, United States later this year.
Joining in the sponsorship of the competition is local telecoms firm Digicel, which has provided the BlackBerry smartphones, valued at $1.2 million, which will be awarded to the top performers. Digicel will also use the winning application in all its markets as a value-added service to its BlackBerry customers.
“Digicel is pleased to be working with the Ministry of Education and Research in Motion… to effect positive change that will lead to self-actualisation from individuals, community and the international level,” said Brian Bennett-Easy, head of Digicel Business. “This (developing applications) is crucial to the development of a small, but powerful country. We at Digicel remain focused on guiding innovation. We are committed to youth development through education.”
According to Bennett-Easy, the competition will no doubt help to motivate potential programmers, develop their innovative skills and, most importantly, stimulate their entrepreneurial capabilities.