Certification Magazine - December 2007 - (Page 6) DATA STREAM News & Notes for Certified Professionals Philanthropic IT As the year comes to a close, and the holidays get into full swing, it becomes time to reflect on what we as individuals can do to make the world a better place. Both at home and abroad, the IT community is involved in increasing computer literacy among children with programs such as One Laptop per Child (see our coverage on page 14). But for every headline-grabbing initiative such as that, there are dozens of dedicated IT nonprofits that have smaller-scale goals but no less passion. Here are two examples of IT nonprofits (which have recently announced expansions to their respective programs) that are sure to inspire. i.c.stars, a nonprofit that offers programs designed to develop inner-city community leaders with IT careers, is increasing the number of interns it takes on this year. The number of paid internship opportunities for the four-month program will go from 24 to 40, and the eight-year-old program is poised to keep growing. “Our interns are highly resilient people who have demonstrated leadership potential, so ultimately the vision is 1,000 community leaders by 2020,” said Sandee Kastrul, president and co-founder of i.c.stars. “Our theory is that leadership creates opportunities for others, but what enables leaders is the social, financial and intellectual capital.” Once a week, i.c.stars interns receive a visit from a local business or IT leader, who shares the story of how he or she got ahead in the business. The chance to meet and mingle with various IT professionals teaches the interns how to maximize the social aspects of life in IT. But it’s still a meat-and-potatoes-type education that’s the backbone of i.c.stars’ internship program. “From a business perspective, we have a lot of courses on finance, marketing, search engine optimization, and we work with an open-source content management system and .NET programming,” Kastrul said. “From a leadership perspective, there’s a lot of emphasis on communication and reciprocity.” The interns also build a team Web site for a nonprofit, dream up and plan a fictional business and build a database-reporting system for large companies to keep track of their computers. There are considerably more applicants than internship positions. And although the intensity of the pro6 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE December 2007 gram could be quite daunting, few participants have complaints, as most are trying to make a better life. “Everyone who comes through i.c.stars has gone through a 20-hour assessment process, has had four interviews, and has done a battery of logic and critical-thinking skill tests, which ultimately helps them see the world as bigger than themselves,” Kastrul said. “Many of our interns have children, so they’re fighting for something other than themselves.” The Digital Alliance Foundation falls more on the international side of IT philanthropy — it’s a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to providing IT knowledge and skills to marginalized groups around the globe. It recently announced a partnership with Rising Star Outreach to provide computers and training to a leprosy colony school outside of Chennai, India. Quinn Sutton, Digital Alliance Foundation executive director, oversees many altruistic programs and initiatives that his foundation helps, but he was especially struck by the work Rising Star was doing. “What’s interesting about this cause is, for many in India, they view leprosy not as a disease but a curse from God,” Sutton said. “If you have leprosy or someone in your family does, you are affected — you can’t get a job, and you are the lowest of the lowest, so they are literally forced to be beggars. “What Rising Star Outreach has done is create a boarding school for the children of the infected so they could go to school and get training.” The humanitarian efforts of organizations such as Rising Star Outreach help provide children in leper colonies with a comfortable learning environment, which allows organizations such as the Digital Alliance Foundation to provide computers and eventually training, the results of which will ripple for many years, Sutton said. “What’s going to happen in one generation is these kids will go from literally beggars, with no choice, no opportunity, to becoming one of the highest classes in India, working in the IT sector,” he said. Program Updates • Collaborative business software company SAP has revamped its certification program. It had been geared mainly toward IT industry newbies, but in consulting with both partners and customers, SAP learned IT professionals would like to use its certifications more to sustain their careers than to start them. SAP’s certification
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