Five Million Ethiopian Coders is a joint initiative between the Government of Ethiopia and the Government of the United Arab Emirates. This program is an offshoot of the historic One Million Arab Coders program, which was announced in 2017 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched the program a couple of months ago, heralding an excellent opportunity for Ethiopian youth.
Computer coding, also known as programming, is the process of writing instructions for a computer to execute tasks. These instructions are written in coding languages like Python, Java, JavaScript, and C++. Coding enables computers to perform various functions, from simple calculations to complex software applications. The essence of coding is transforming human logic into a format that computers can interpret, typically involving problem-solving and logical thinking to design and implement programs.
A coder, or programmer, creates “code” to instruct a computer on how to behave or respond. This can be seen in various applications, such as developing websites, games, apps, and artificial intelligence systems. The process of coding typically involves planning a solution, breaking down tasks into smaller, manageable components, writing code, and testing to ensure the code functions as intended.
In Five Million Ethiopian Coders, Ethiopian learners will have the opportunity to gain foundational level skills across three domains: Programming Fundamentals, Data Science Fundamentals, and Android Kotlin Developer Fundamentals. Learners will be supported by mentors who will assist them on a dedicated Community Platform to unblock technical questions on a daily basis throughout the 6-7 week course. Upon successful course completion, learners will be awarded with skill-based certifications.
This article will provide a short analysis of what Ethiopia can achieve through this massive training program and the impacts of the expected outputs.
Computer coding training can significantly impact Ethiopia’s workforce and economy by empowering youth with valuable tech skills and supporting the growth of the digital economy. Here are some initiatives and strategies that can enhance coding education in Ethiopia:
– Integrating coding into the school curriculum helps students develop digital skills early. Programs like Africa Code Week provide a foundation, but a sustained national effort would be impactful.
– The Ethiopian Ministry of Education could collaborate with tech companies and NGOs to offer coding programs in schools. For example, Microsoft’s Hour of Code initiative offers easy-to-implement lessons for educators.
– Launching boot camps focused on web development, data science, and mobile app development can create job-ready candidates quickly. Initiatives like Gebeya Academy and Moringa School already support coding in East Africa and can be expanded
– Partnering with platforms like Coursera, Code cademy, and Khan Academy allows Ethiopian students to access global coding resources, which are often low-cost or free.
– Establishing innovation hubs like Ice Addis and Blue Moon can foster a community of developers, provide mentorship, and help coders transition into tech startups or freelance work. These hubs offer resources, networking opportunities, and business support, helping coders apply their skills directly to real-world problems.
– Integrating computer science programs in universities and promoting STEM fields can increase the number of Ethiopian software developers and tech entrepreneurs. Government scholarships and incentives can attract more students to these programs.
– Expanding internet access and affordability is key to ensuring that rural and underserved communities can participate in online coding programs.
– Providing subsidies or partnerships for low-cost devices allows more youth to practice and develop their coding skills.
– Partnerships with tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and IBM can offer training programs, certification opportunities, and even recruitment pipelines for Ethiopian coders. These companies often support African tech education through grants, training resources, and mentorship programs.
By equipping Ethiopian youth with coding skills, the country can drive digital innovation, boost entrepreneurship, and create a skilled workforce to meet local and global tech demands, fueling economic growth and supporting Ethiopia’s goals for digital transformation.
Ethiopian learners will have the opportunity to gain foundational level skills across three domains:
Programming Fundamentals, Data Science Fundamentals, and Android Developer Fundamentals. Learners will be supported by mentors who will assist them on a dedicated Community Platform to unblock technical questions on a daily basis throughout the 6-7 week course. Upon successful course completion, learners will be awarded with skill-based certifications.
According to the organizers of the training program, training in Programming Fundamentals is one of the tracks in which trainings are provided in web development, how web pages are structured from scratch using a language called Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and how this HTML structure is designed and styled using another language called Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) and finally how this styled structure gets converted into an interactive application using JavaScript.
The other track of training is entitled Data Science Fundamentals. This track aims to teach the core fundamentals of data analysis and refine your ability to work with massive and complex data sets. One would learn to manipulate and prepare data for analyzing and create visualizations for telling stories with data.
The other important stream relates to Android Developer, which deals with how application layouts are created and how interaction with users takes place, and the basics of Kotlin language specially designed with speed in mind. It compiles faster and makes your application more lightweight and prevents them from increasing in size.
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2024
