Most technology companies like Google, Microsoft are already giving developers tools/resources and even have special programs for students. Why should a student register on the Intel platform?
Intel is OS (operating system) agnostic, and we support both Android and Windows operating systems. By registering to the IDZ zone, students get additional resources that enable them to optimize their applications for specific hardware, ensuring they maintain a competitive edge.
Talking about Intel’s University Program. Has this been successfully implemented elsewhere?
The site http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/teach-parallel/ has numerous examples of universities around the world that are successfully implementing our programs.
The Intel Academic Program provides Intel Software Development Products to faculty teaching parallelism and other advanced technologies.
We want to work with students in Kenya to ensure the next generation of computer scientists, software engineers can develop software that maximizes performance on today’s and tomorrow’s hardware. Some of the opportunities we are offering include: The Intel Manycore Testing lab is a software development environment that lecturers and students can use for projects in and out of the classroom. Local students can engage with hands-on code testing on many cores and threads to demonstrate software scaling and to conduct research supporting parallelism.
In addition, our tools suites include industry-leading C, C++ and FORTRAN compilers; performance and parallel libraries; error checking, performance profiling and cluster analyzers. Lecturers in Kenya are welcomed to apply for a grant of a one-year, renewable software tools license for classrooms through IDZ membership account at no cost.
Apart from helping developers use Intel resources, will this initiative translate to financial gains for developers?
Our tools and resources help developers to develop quality apps with superior graphics that attract potential consumers to not only download them but also purchase.
Applications are distributed using the global content marketplaces such as Googleplay, which already offer numerous monetization opportunities for partners.
We see Intel-based devices as extending a customer base for developers. As more and more Intel-based devices come into the market, developers will have a vast platform to market their apps. We see potential of having hardware manufactures matched with local developers and having apps bundled on hardware before they go to market.
What other projects is Intel currently running in Kenya?
We have done ICT capacity development for 50,000 teachers in the last 3 years in Kenya and we are currently conducting Train-the- Trainer program with the TSC (Teachers Service Commission) in order to have 22,000 additional teachers trained.
Through our efforts in education and in collaboration with other partners we have influenced the education policy in Kenya to make provision for adoption and usage of ICT in education. A case in point is the inclusion of ICT capacity development for teachers as well the introduction of monitoring and evaluation methodology.
We run capacity building sessions for over 200 retail sales people in East Africa. We intend to train resources that can provide unbiased information on PCs, tablets and phones at a point of sale. By doing this, we hope to increase PC penetration and ensure customers purchase the right devices that meet their needs
Entry into the smartphone business in Africa in partnership with Safaricom is also another project we have undertaken in Kenya