The focus of the 22ndAnnual Computer Olympiad, supported by the Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA) and Standard Bank, has shifted to the open source programming language Python.
The Shuttleworth Foundation and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have jointly invested R300 000 into the Olympiad for it to facilitate the Python programming language as a new category for this year.
"Open source software (OSS) is the best platform for software engineering education, as it exposes the student to every aspect of operating system, tool chain and application design. I`m thrilled to see South African students using open source tools for the Computer Olympiad as it gives them the best grounding for their future in the software industry," says Shuttleworth Foundation founder Mark Shuttleworth.
Public interest coupled with the government`s support for OSS use prompted this shift in focus, says Peter Waker, VP of education and training at CSSA.
"The Olympiad is great for identifying and rewarding youngsters with programming potential as there is a shortage of IT skills in the country," adds Waker.
The participating schools will be supplied with a CD that contains the Python language, which is available on the Internet, says Thomas Black, open source program manager at the Shuttleworth Foundation.
The Olympiad is open to all full-time learners at schools in SA, with the gold medal winner receiving R6 000 plus an additional R5 000 worth of computer hardware or software for their school.
"Based on past records, lots of previous Olympiad winners have received free tuition after the event, with some getting internships in the US," says Waker.
The Olympiad starts this Friday.
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