SiD's EDiT Offers 12 Work/Study Grants to Unemployed Developers
Applications due March 11 for next RPG & DB2 Summit
Newton, NJ - March 2, 2010 - System i Developer, the consortium of four top educators on IBM i development technologies, today announces EDiT (Education for Developers in Transition), an educational grant program designed to empower unemployed RPG/DB2 developers to update their skills through an exchange of work for study. Through EDiT, System i Developer will award 12 work/study grants for the next RPG & DB2 Summit, scheduled for March 23-25 at the Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa in Texas. Two developers will be selected to join the SiD team as room monitors in exchange for full conference registration, and an additional 10 developers will be selected to attend a half-day Headstart Seminar of their choice on March 22.
"We're concerned about the large number of unemployed developers out there who are finding it a challenge to upgrade their skills, just when their skills need to be at their most marketable," explains Susan Gantner, System i Developer partner and founder of EDiT. "System i Developer has provided work/study grants to several developers and students over the past few years. By formalizing and expanding on our past work/study activities, we can reach out to help more developers help themselves. In return, we ask that those developers find a way to help others in their community."
Developers selected as room monitors will help SiD staff and conference speakers by distributing handouts, tracking session attendance, helping with registration and providing other assistance as needed. In exchange for this help, they will receive all benefits of a Summit registration, including attendance at conference sessions, meals, handouts and evening events.
Recipients of the EDiT Headstart Seminar grant will be able to attend one of four half-day Seminars held on Monday, March 22 at no charge. "We wanted to include as many developers as possible in this program, so we had to limit free participation to one seminar," explains Gantner. "If a grant recipient wishes to take advantage of two seminars, we just ask that they contribute $50 to cover the extra expense of lunch and the bound handouts."
The Headstart Seminars include:
- SQL: Beyond the Basics with Skip Marchesani
- HTML/Javascript/CSS for RPG Developers with Paul Tuohy
- PHP for RPG Developers with Jon Paris
- From Subroutines to Subprocedures & Service Programs with Susan Gantner
The application deadline for EDiT grants is Thursday, March 11. All work/study grant recipients will be responsible for their own travel and hotel expenses. Details on the grants, including qualification criteria and how to apply, can be found here
The RPG & DB2 Summit is sponsored by three leading media organizations, IBM Systems Magazine, System iNetwork and MC Press Online.
For more information on attending the RPG & DB2 Summit, visit www.systemideveloper.com, email conference registration or call 802-496-3397 (toll-free 866-716-5409).