Parents who decided to send their children to participate in an eight-week IT boot camp organised by SPARK were recently given a glimpse of the value they get for their money when the young participants, whose ages range from seven to 17 years showed their programming aptitude to Oracle Academy panellists in the first week of the camp. Referred to as “The Geeks,” the youngsters demonstrated their ability to use Alice, a Java code, to produce visual and audio programmes and were awarded certificates by Sefunmi Fadahunsi, a representative Oracle.
The numbers of children participating in the programme subsequently increased from 30 to 40 by the second week. Aside core computer programming, children are also being trained in other useful computer applications and by the end of the camp, are expected to be competent in graphic design, video editing, website design, and robotics.
Dipo Olagbegi, managing director of Spark, was commended by both parents and technology partners, for the outfits pioneering role in the introduction of advanced technology to the young ones in simple, easy-to-understand formats.
Spark, a social entrepreneurship-focused organisation that concentrates on nurturing young IT specialists has its boot camps in Lekki Phase1 and Ikeja GRA. The 2016 camp is the organisation’s 3rd edition of the camp which normally holds during the long vacation period.
One of the parents avowed that given the economic crunch in the country which has constrained many families from taking their children on the usual overseas tour, Spark IT camp was a blessing.
According to Olagbegi, any training in information technology such as the one the teenagers are exposed to at Spark’s IT boot camp, should not be taken for granted by parents and should rather be seen as a way of equipping the children for a better, competitive future. “About 90% of future jobs will require ICT skills, we are leaving our children a world that will be driven largely by technology, and the children’s ability to understand, engage and manage technology will definitely impact their relevance in the future,” Olagbegi said. “From phones to cars to medicine, technology touches every part of our lives. If you can create technology, you can change the world.”
Spark IT camp, which opened on July 11 will close on September 2, 2016