Novosco Camp event gives 50 school pupils an IT career boost

  • The 2019 Novosco Camp is giving 50 students a solid head-start to their IT careers right now, and a free Raspberry Pi computer to help them explore the world of programming and IT infrastructure.

    Demand for IT graduates and software engineers in Belfast has continued to rise year-on-year as the Northern Ireland tech scene has grown sharply. Local companies such as Novosco have been tackling the talent shortage in recent years with some fantastic educational initiatives aimed at school-aged students to help prepare the next generation of students to begin their IT careers.

    One such programme is Novosco Camp, launched in 2016 and run in partnership with Ulster University with the goal of giving students aged 16-17 first-hand experience of how IT infrastructure and systems are developed and managed. The five day long summer camp has become an annual event, with the 2019 programme is taking place right now in Ulster University's Jordanstown campus.

    The programme contains a mix of teaching and hands-on practicals presented in a fun way on topics that are essential in industry, from networking and building circuits to programming and emerging tech such as machine learning. Students also benefitted from workshops to improve interview skills and CV writing abilities, giving them a boost in their path into an IT career, and each student got a free Raspberry Pi mini computer to keep that they can use to continue learning programming concepts on their own.

    A total of 50 local students from schools and colleges across Northern Ireland have been participating in the camp this week, with support from Novosco's IT engineers, lecturers from Ulster University's School of Computing, and experts from the University's Connected Health Innovation Centre.

    Novosco Managing Director Patrick McAliskey commented on the camp: "Novosco Camp is one of my favourite weeks of the year as we get to engage with young people who are passionate about IT and eager to learn, as well as to work closely with the fantastic team at Ulster University. I am also delighted that we have been able to increase the intake for Novosco Camp this year to 50 pupils."

    Source: Written based on press release

     

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    Brendan is a Sync NI writer with a special interest in the gaming sector, programming, emerging technology, and physics. To connect with Brendan, feel free to send him an email or follow him on Twitter.

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