Master the Mainframe Contest
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Master the Mainframe contest is a mainframe programming challenge that is organized annually by IBM Academic Initiative System z.[1]
History
Originally catered to students attending North American institutions of higher learning (United States and Canada , excluding Quebec), the contest is currently running in separate countries across the globe (30 to date).[2] The goal of the contest is to provide students with the opportunity to experience working with mainframes.[3] The contest was created in part to increase the number of mainframe skilled individuals in the computing workforce.[4] The North American contest has successfully completed 7 contests to date.
Contest
The contest that runs for North America typically starts during the Fall semester and runs until the end of December. It is separated into 3 parts in which each part increases in complexity. Part 1 introduces the contestants to the basic aspects necessary to get started with mainframe technologies and requires minimal time to complete. Part 2 on the other hand involves more steps for each tasks and usually takes a day or so to accomplish. The first 60 winners of Part 2 will receive monetary prize in recognition of their achievement. Lastly, part 3 is more in depth and may involve multiple programming challenges such as COBOL, REXX, JCL, etc. (depending on the questions set for the year's challenge).[5]
Prizes
Past winners of Part 3 have receive gifts such as iPad, iPod, laptops or netbooks. Winners also receives an all-expense-paid trip to the IBM mainframe facility in Poughkeepsie, New York.
References
- ↑ Salamone, Salvatore. "It's Now Cool to Master the Mainframe". http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Technology-For-Change/Its-Now-Cool-to-Master-the-Mainframe. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ↑ Todd, Mike; Newton, P. "Master the Mainframe Contest: Past, Present and Future". ECC 2011. p. 8. http://ecc.marist.edu/conf2011/materials/NewtonMaster_the_Mainframe_-_Past,_Present_and_Future_v3.pdf. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ↑ Todd, Mike; Newton, P. "Master the Mainframe Contest: Past, Present and Future". ECC 2011. pp. 3–4. http://ecc.marist.edu/conf2011/materials/NewtonMaster_the_Mainframe_-_Past,_Present_and_Future_v3.pdf. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ↑ Sharma, Niranjan. "IBM Academic Initiative Helps Fill the Skills Gap". http://destinationz.org/Community/Evangelizing-Mainframe/October-2011/IBM-Academic-Initiative-Helps-Fill-the-Skills-Gap.aspx. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ↑ Todd, Mike; Newton, P. "Master the Mainframe Contest: Past, Present and Futur". ECC 2011. http://ecc.marist.edu/conf2011/materials/NewtonMaster_the_Mainframe_-_Past,_Present_and_Future_v3.pdf. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
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