Recently, 70 Masters students from the University of Manchester in the UK visited Cape Town as part of a study tour. The aim of this trip was to learn more about the City of Cape Town's Open Data and Smart Cape initiative. Maxxor is proud to have been invited to speak at this event and have an opportunity to personally connect with these curious, innovative young people.
All of the students who participated in the educational trip are studying towards an MSc in Management and Information Systems with the main focus on information and communication technology (ICT) for socio-economic development. They form part of the Development Informatics Group (DIG), hence the trip was nicknamed the DIG 2015 event.
The focus of DIG 2015 was to observe the role that information and communication technologies play in socio-economic development. The city of Cape Town was seen as the perfect location to expose the students to a diverse range of contexts and initiatives, such as the Open Data Portal. Furthermore, Cape Town was the ideal location as it has such a diverse society - on the one hand there is the industrialised first world with leading high-tech ICT-based industries, and on the other there are the deprived, yet developing, communities.
As Jaco Renken, lecturer at the University of Manchester and the leader on the DIG group's study tour said: "Cape Town provides a great location for exposing students to a range of relevant contexts and initiatives within a rather small geographic area. Secondly, Cape Town has a wonderful sense of community between the different role players in the ICT industry - it is small enough so that most people know about each other, and it is just big enough to have centres of excellence that we'd like to expose our MSc students to. It is therefore rather easy to gain access to various organisations and there is generally a willingness to interact and engage with a group such as ours."
Maxxor's Director of Product Development, Adrian Frielinghaus, participated in the event by giving a presentation on how software development is being implemented in a growing democratic country like SA. Real-world examples were provided to teach the students how theory becomes practice. This is especially valuable in teaching the students how information technology can be utilised to provide opportunities, and create sustainable growth for the community they live and work in.
It was especially important for Maxxor to become involved with this event as the company is dedicated to making a difference in SA through software development. Maxxor also believes in playing a role in social development and positive transformation. Initiatives like these help to bring the world's attention to the country and place the spotlight on how we are handling issues with regards to open data and sustainable growth.
The DIG group's motto for the study tour was "Be Inspired..." and the trip was aimed at inspiring the students to seize every opportunity that arises once they have completed their Masters degree. By bridging the divide between classroom theory and real-world application, it provided the students with an idea of how they can apply what they have learnt in their future careers. DIG 2015 also afforded these young people the opportunity to expand their professional network and helped to connect them with organisations in Cape Town that can assist them with future research, and even possible employment.
Furthermore, Maxxor also implemented a programme that provides free software training to recently-matriculated students who do not have the financial means to pursue a career in software development. The company hopes to make a positive impact through endeavours such as these and the DIG 2015 event, and to continue to educate people on the positive impact software development can have on the development of communities.
For more information contact Adrian Frielinghaus, Director of Product Development, Maxxor on 021 551 5366 or e-mail adrian@maxxor.com.
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