IBM Master the Mainframe Contest for Students in Middle East & Africa 2018

Application Deadline: 31st December 2017

Eligible Regions: N. America, Latin America, S. Asia, APAC, MEA, and Europe

About the Award: This unique, virtual contest is open globally to high school and college students to progressively teach mainframe skills in a real-world enterprise computing environment. Employers from around the globe use this contest to seek out potential candidates for mainframe careers.

Part 1: Learn the Basics: Meet the IBM Z mainframe and acquaint yourself with the user interfaces, the basic concepts, and data structures. IBM will provide step by step instructions to complete the challenges and set you up for success in Part 2.

Part 2: Practice: Students will program (advanced commands, system setup, and system navigation), develop (C, JAVA, COBOL, assembler, and REXX) and experience operating systems challenges on IBM Z.

Part 3: Try Challenges: Dive deeper using real-life scenarios encountered by experienced systems programmers. Challenges will put contestants to the test and identify those with the most drive and determination to master the mainframe

Type: Contest

Eligibility: 

• Anyone who is currently a student at the high school or university level can compete — no experience is necessary.
• The contest teaches the skills you’ll need and the competition difficulty increases as you progress through the contest phases.

Number of Awards: Numerous

Value of Award: 

• Besides the awesome prizes, you can get unprecedented exposure to a variety of systems, software, and products.
• You can earn an Enterprise Computing Open Badge for your resume and social presences to impress potential employers. Yup, that’s right.
• This competition can even land you a job!

Part 1 Prizes: Snag your Swag

• $25 USD Amazon/Alibaba Gift Card for 750 contestants, taken from the first 3000 accepted challenges (a 1 in 4 chance) that are 100% correct.

Part 2 Prizes: Indulge Yourself

• $100 USD Mastercard/Visa Gift Cards for the first 200 challenges that are 100% correct.

Part 3 Prizes: Show Off Your Talent

• The top 2 individuals from EACH region (N. America, Latin America, S. Asia, APAC, MEA, and Europe) will win a $2750 travel stipend to visit the head office of IBM in their region and meet with key executives and recruiters on their project.
• Each winning individual will receive a “Master the Mainframe Global Winner” Hoodie.
• The top three individuals globally will receive an HTC Vive worth $799 USD

How to Apply: REGISTER HERE

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: IBM