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IDA and Microsoft partnership brings ‘Code for Change’

IDA and Microsoft partnership brings ‘Code for Change’

Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and Microsoft Corp are partnering up to launch a three year programme called ‘Code for Change’. This programme is aimed at teaching 1.2 million Singaporeans coding at varying levels. 500,000 will be young students from lower primary to junior college and polytechnic level. The aim is to create a stream of coding knowledge and interest among the masses. Thus, creating a larger pool of coders to help usher in the Smart Nation initiative.

During the launch of ‘Code for Change’, 6-year-old Sophia Curic presents her experience with coding which started at the age of 4. She made an interactive story using programming language Scratch. Her humorous story, called the Automatic Bottom Spanker, shows the potential for youngsters to code.

“The opportunity now is to create a culture of experimentation in which students are both curious and confident when working with technology,” said IDA executive chairman Steve Leonard. Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Minister-in-Charge for the Singapore Smart Nation Programme Office, finds that these young and creative minds would create huge opportunities. He suggests that this will occur when they are equipped with the right skills, such as coding.

The ‘Code for Change’ program will introduce Singaporeans to specific coding languages and frameworks such as Kodu, Visual Basic, Project Spark and .Net. It is predicted that beginning to teach Singaporeans coding will bring a further edge to the nation’s Smart Nation progress.

Through a 2015 survey carried out in various countries within the Asia Pacific, Microsoft learned that students wished for more coding education within their curriculum. They found that 63% felt that coding helps respondents to better understand our digital world. 41% believe that coding skills would benefit their future career. Both genders hold high value in coding for their future job prospects. It is apparent from this survey that students in the Asian Pacific exemplify an interest in coding. They see it as integral to providing them opportunities in the future.

With the vision for a Smart Nation, comes a need for educated workers with computational thinking. A Smart Future requires coders to make applications that will help the Smart Nation operate efficiently and effectively for Singaporeans. The partnership with Microsoft creates a unique opportunity for Singaporeans of all levels to learn coding. The educators, learning resources, and tutorials that will be made available to the programme will feed a culture of experimentation and newfound confidence in working with technology.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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