By adopting SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop and working with Global Software Academy to design and run a varied co-curricular training programme, Assumption English School is giving its students an opportunity to gain skills and experience in the world of open source software.
Founded in 1953, Assumption English School (AES) is a co-educational Catholic mission school in Bukit Timah in the western part of Singapore. The School prides itself on a strong academic tradition and commitment to Christian values.
As part of Singapore's Intelligent Nation 2015 Master Plan, the Ministry of Education and Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) are funding educational programmes to improve technology skills in the future workforce. Singapore is aiming to maintain its competitiveness in the global market by boosting the technology know-how among school and university graduates.
The IDA and industry partners provide co-funding support to cover training and infrastructure costs for Infocomm Clubs in Singapore schools, with the aim of getting students interested in information technology and giving them practical skills to cultivate leadership and entrepreneurship capabilities at an early age.
The Infocomm Club at each school is free to choose its own specialist area, and AES decided to take a bold step by adopting open source technology. "Our students typically already have access to proprietary operating systems, and we wanted to break away from the usual focus of Infocomm Clubs," said Toh Hun Khim, Head of the IT Department at AES. "Open source adoption is growing rapidly in Singapore and beyond, and we wanted to prepare our students to succeed in the new economy."
AES selected Global Software Academy (GSA) as its strategic partner for the Infocomm Club. GSA designed a varied programme based around SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell® and other open source software.
"We really wanted to do something different and interesting for our students, and only GSA recognised the holistic nature of what we were trying to achieve," said Toh. "GSA proposed a full four-year programme covering our full academic intake, with plenty of practical guidance on how to make the education relevant and engaging for our students."
The initial intake for the Infocomm Club was approximately 45 students in Secondary One and Two. These students will continue working through the programme for the remaining years of their schooling, so that within two years the programme will be active across all age-groups at AES.
The GSA programme is based around the use of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, and takes students from the basics - installing the operating system - all the way through to advanced Linux* administration. The programme also includes programming techniques and introductions to a variety of open source software, including Apache, OpenOffice.org and MySQL.
The GSA programme is based around the use of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, and takes students from the basics - installing the operating system - all the way through to advanced Linux* administration. The programme also includes programming techniques and introductions to a variety of open source software, including Apache, OpenOffice.org and MySQL.
GSA consultants conduct the classes for the Infocomm Club, using Novell course materials as well as their own specially designed training materials. The classes include practical projects that encourage students to take a hands-on approach to learning - helping them to develop real skills for their future careers.
The Club is currently developing an Appointment Booking application for Family Life Society (FLS). FLS is a non-profit organisation that offers counselling and care services as well as educational programmes and resources to families and individuals. This project enables the students to bring value to the society and community at large through the use of technology.
AES and GSA plan to enable students to gain official Novell certifications in Linux, giving them a tangible qualification for their resumés.
"The GSA-designed courses in SUSE Linux Enterprise and other open source technologies are already proving very popular at AES. The Infocomm Club is a non-compulsory, co-curricular activity, and students are happily choosing to invest their free time to gain skills and experience in open source software."
"Our students are very enthusiastic about using open source software, and the service from GSA is outstanding," said Toh. "The skills our students are gaining will stand them in good stead in their later lives and careers, particularly as the adoption of open source technology gains pace in industry and commerce."
By choosing SUSE Linux Enterprise as its standard operating system for the Infocomm Club, AES benefits from a robust, enterprise-class Linux distribution, backed by excellent global support and a wealth of documentation.
"Assumption English School strives to provide a diverse and holistic education to our primary stakeholders, the students," said Toh. "Our strategic partnership with GSA to give students a grounding in SUSE Linux Enterprise and other open source technologies will open up new waves of opportunity."
