Santa Clara, CA: March 26, 2016 — The Palisadoes Foundation, with the Jamaica Diaspora Technology Task Force, announce the initial application statistics for the 2016 Calico Challenge.
Applications closed on March 25 after a sustained campus education campaign by the UWI Computing Society and the UTech IEEE Student Branch student clubs. Activities included promotions on the Palisadoes Foundation’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, email campaigns to the computer science student bodies at both universities, and weekly education sessions held as part of the student clubs days.
The interest in all three Calico Challenge projects was strong:
- Harvest API: 3 Students.
- Material-UI: 8 Students
- Infoset: 13 Students
Student applicants ranged from high schools to university. All undergraduate years of tertiary education were represented from UWI and UTech.
“The level of interest really exceeded our expectations from the beginning. The Calico launch in February attracted over 120 students which has resulted in us receiving 24 applications. Of that number, 5 were from women in technology,” remarked Peter Harrison, President of The Palisadoes Foundation. “We hope to see similarly strong numbers of applicants for the Google Summer of Code, for which Calico is a stepping stone. This is very encouraging.”
Over the next week students will work with their mentors to clarify the scope of their proposed summer projects and will submit their formal proposals on April 1, for review by the Acceptance Committee.
Details on each project can be found at: http://calico.palisadoes.org/
About the Calico Challenge
The Calico Challenge is a partnership between The Palisadoes Foundation and the Jamaica Diaspora Technology Task Force. It is a summer work study program for computer science students in Jamaica. Each selected student works on enhancing open source software used internationally under the guidance of a Diaspora mentor. Calico is also a feeder program for the similar Google Summer of Code.
About the Palisadoes Foundation
The Palisadoes Foundation aims to provide new avenues to promote Jamaica’s technology businesses and talent using a series of programs aimed at creating increased awareness of the island’s abilities in the global marketplace.
About the Jamaica Diaspora Technology Task Force
The Jamaica Diaspora Technology Task Force is a group of expatriate Jamaicans interested in assisting in the continued development of new and existing technologies in Jamaica. It is a member of the Jamaica Diaspora Movement.