AMMAN — Microsoft Jordan is planning to implement a series of initiatives starting next month to educate secondary school and university students on how to develop apps for Windows.
In early February, the software giant will hold an event gathering students from several private schools to brief them about the IT sector, how to compete in the field and the employment opportunities it offers, Ayman Afaneh, Microsoft Jordan’s developer and platform evangelist lead, told The Jordan Times this week.
“We want to educate schoolchildren about opportunities in the IT field before they join university so they can better understand the sector, which is likely to help them make a decision about the major they will pursue,” Afaneh said.
Students from about 10 schools will be invited to take part in the event, he said, adding that Microsoft Jordan is keen on expanding the initiative, dubbed “Technology Rocks”, to public schools at a later stage.
Microsoft Jordan will also train participating students on app development, after which they will return to their schools and form teams to work on a certain project or app that serves the community, Afaneh added.
In late April, the company is scheduled to announce the names of students who created the best apps, he said.
In addition, Microsoft Jordan will cooperate with IT faculties at the country’s universities to provide students with tools and software that help them develop apps.
“These tools will be available for university students for free so they can train themselves and engage in creating apps,” he added.
“By giving the necessary tools for app development, we seek to empower Jordanian university students to be competitive and learn new skills in the field that will help them find jobs in the future,” Afaneh noted.
