We are heading towards a phase where we no longer have to login to the Google website for our dose of information. With the advent of smartphones and tablets, a great deal of specific and exhaustive information is available, with applications for everything ranging from finding directions to making food recipes or learning a new language. It is estimated that there are more than a billion smartphones in use in the world across a variety of mobile platforms like Android, Windows and Apple’s iOS, to name a few. With increasing smartphone penetration, the need for application developers is constantly rising. Keeping this in mind, Dimensions, a Chennai-based company have tied up with Google Developers Group to start a project called Andro Minds 2013 to train young programmers in app development for Google’s Android devices.
The project trains college students who have a good background in Java in Android programming. Seshu Karthik, CEO of Dimensions, speaks on how this project came about. “My company has been involved in web development and mobile app development for the past three years and I found that there is a huge demand for app developers but not enough skilled programmers. So, to bridge this gap we started this project,” says Karthik who holds a Masters degree in Computer Science and left his job with American Airlines to start his own company three years ago. The training programme is held over three weekends (four hours a day) in which students are given training in Android development. After the training period comes the Codefest (from mid-March) where, the students in a group of two to four, work on a developing a prototype app in two weeks. The last phase of the project is the Grand Finale in the first week of April, where students showcase their product to companies and will be offered job opportunities or internships. The winner of the contest will be judged by an online poll on social media platforms such as Facebook.
Who can participate
On the eligibility and training processs, Mr. Karthik says, “We don’t conduct aptitude tests but just check the students’ basic knowledge in Java. The programme does not have a separate theory or practical sections but hands-on training where the students work on their code using the laptop and will be guided by the trainer.” The total cost for the whole project is Rs. 5,000. Students can enrol before February-end for the third and final batch of training that starts in early March.
Arjun Narayan, a third-year IT student from SSN College of Engineering who has already taken part in app developing contests, says, “This course covers all the basics well. Another good feature is they also give us exposure to the whole field and you can choose to explore further. ”
Dinesh Balaji, a third-year IT student from RMK Engineering College, who has joined the course to supplement his passion for business logic development and web technology, says, “Learning this will help further my knowledge in web technology and this is crucial because the web is now intertwined with apps nowadays.”
