Linux Professional Institute

Science Hack Day

LPI East Africa supported the Science Hack Day (http://www.sciencehackday.or.ke) which took place at the Start-up garage, also known as 88 Mph (40 Piedmont Plaza along Ngong' Road, Nairobi), from 13th to 15th April, 2012. LPI east Africa donated LPI PBT Exam vouchers which was awarded to the leading participants at the event.

What is Science Hack Day?
The mission of Science Hack Day was to get excited and make things with science! A Hack Day is a 48-hour-all-night event that brings together designers, developers, scientists and other geeks in the same physical space for a brief but intense period of collaboration, hacking, and building ‘cool stuff’. Hack Days were originally created by Yahoo! in 2005 and soon after became a worldwide trend. By collaborating on focused tasks during this short period, small groups of hackers are capable of producing remarkable results. Some Hack Days have a specific focus. There have already been very successful Music Hack Days and Government Hack Days. It’s time for a Hack Day focused on science!

Linux skills certification

LPI is committed to the development of a global standard in Linux certification. We believe that such a certification program must meet the requirements of both IT professionals and the organizations that would employ them. To achieve this goal we have adopted an open, rigorous, and consultative development process which uses both volunteer and hired resources. Our development process is widely recognized and endorsed and has met the strict requirements of independent certification authorities.

The LPI Certification Program is:

• Designed by a community of Linux professionals, volunteers, vendors and educators
• Challenging: if you don't know the subjects you won't pass
• Accessible and available at thousands of test centres around the world or at special events
• Of high quality: relying on critical input from numerous Linux experts and employing scientific and industry-recognized psychometric processes
• Distribution-neutral: verifying knowledge on any standard Linux system
• Relevant: surveying thousands to determine the skills that need to be tested
• Training-vendor independent: encouraging a variety of methods and approaches to test preparation
• Supported and sponsored by a large number of Linux companies and projects
• A certification the Linux community can respect and be proud of.

LINUX ESSENTIALS PROGRAM

“Certificate of Achievement” introduces new users and youth to Linux and Open Source Software - (Doha, Qatar and Hanover, Germany: March 6, 2012) The Linux Professional Institute (LPI), the world's premier Linux certification organization (http://www.lpi.org), announced “Linux Essentials” an innovative new program measuring foundation knowledge in Linux and Open Source Software. Targeted at new technology users, the Linux Essentials program is set to be adopted by schools, educational authorities, training centers and others commencing June 2012.

"Linux is ubiquitous and plays a significant role in the server room, on our phones and tablets, cash registers and, of course, embedded devices everywhere. Linux is in the enterprise, in movie studios, government, academia and throughout industry around the world. We at LPI, with the help of our partner channel, are going to take it to the last frontier--the classroom. LPI is at the forefront of creating the first generation of Linux professionals, and now with our "Linux Essentials" program we're going to create the first global generation of "users" who are as comfortable with Linux as they are with any other operating system," said Jim Lacey, president and CEO of LPI. Mr. Lacey however was quick to add that this new initiative isn't just for students: "Linux Essentials isn't just for youth, it’s for anyone that desires a gateway to Open Source Software. We've had business people, policy makers and government officials approach us and ask for an exam that demonstrates their knowledge of the Open Source ecosystem. Come June, we're going to start doing just that for everyone".

The Linux Essentials program has been under development by LPI for approximately two years and includes the participation of qualification authorities, academic partners, private trainers, publishers, government organizations, volunteer IT professionals and Linux and Open Source experts. The single "Linux Essentials" exam leads to a "Certificate of Achievement" recognizing knowledge of the following subject matter:

• The Linux Community and a Career in Open Source
• Popular Operating Systems and Major Open Source Applications
• Understanding Open Source Software and Licensing
• Linux Command Line Basics, Files and Scripts

Program elements also include:

• regional links to employment and apprenticeship programs available to youth in Linux and Open Source careers
• support for skills competitions such as Worldskills International: http://www.worldskills.org/
• support for teacher collaboration and sharing of learning exercises for the “Linux Essentials” knowledge base
• commitments from major IT courseware and content publishers on exam preparatory resources
• a “low-stakes” exam available online either through LPI or partner internet-based testing
• a PDF “certificate of achievement” valid for 10 years
• will cost the equivalent of 50 euros at test centers of academic partners and 65 euros at private test centers

The “Linux Essentials” exam will be available in June 2012 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and in other nations around the world in 2013. A full description of “Linux Essentials” is available at: http://www.lpi.org/linuxessentials Individuals and organizations interested in participating in the “Linux Essentials” program may email LPI at: innovation@lpi.org

Mr. Lacey made the announcement via video link to a press conference hosted by LPI representatives at CeBIT 2012 in Hanover, Germany. Mr. Lacey participated in the announcement following his appearance on an expert panel discussion on education, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and the creation of an Arab ICT industry while attending the International Telecommunications Union “Connect Arab Summit” in Doha, Qatar (http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/arabstates/index.asp)

The Linux Professional Institute is globally supported by the IT industry, enterprise customers, community professionals, government entities and the educational community. LPI's certification program is supported by an affiliate network spanning five continents and is distributed worldwide in multiple languages at more than 7,000 testing locations. Since 1999, LPI has delivered over 300,000 exams and 100,000 LPIC certifications around the world.