Communications of the ACM
Kenya Ict Board and CMU Launch International Software Standard
Bitange Ndemo, Kenya's permanent secretary at the Ministry of Information
Credit: itnewsafrica.com
Researchers at the Kenya ICT Board (KICTB) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) launched Chipuka, a certification program for Kenya's software developers in the country that aims to create an international standard for software development skills.
The need for such a program arose after KICTB visited Silicon Valley and marketed the country as a software development destination, says Bitange Ndemo, Kenya's permanent secretary at the Ministry of Information.
The Chipuka project will run as a trial with 500 developers expected from the first round in April 2013. Ndemo says the number of certified developers should increase to about 1,000 depending on the initial success of the program. "Kenya needs to quantify [its software development industry] and the best way to do this will to build a software certification program that [information technology] firms such as IBM and others will identify with," says CMU's Randal Bryant.
IBM already has voiced interest in the Chipuka program and is ready to test about 10,000 people, says CMU's Phillip Miller. Ndemo says Chipuka is a "triple helix partnership between the academic sector, government, and private sector" that is needed to help move Kenya forward.
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