December 20, 2019

 

 

American Corner in Jimma, Ethiopia, Hosts Inaugural Q.Me Cup Coding Competition

EthioCoders, Winner of the Inaugural Q.Me Cup Coding Competition at the American Corner in Jimma, Ethiopia on Saturday, November 2, 2019

 

 

After a one hour code-off, Team EthioCoders emerged winner of the inaugural Q.Me Cup cloud-based coding competition at the American Corner in Jimma, Ethiopia, last month.

 

Groups of students competed in the coding competition to develop a website for the fictitious business, Jimma Coffee Company, using HTML, CSS and Javascript. The coding competition concluded an 11-week cloud-based course taught by instructors in the United States via videoconference lectures and live one-on-one and small-group tutoring through the Q.Me video queuing and matching platform.

 

 

The Q.Me Cup and Introduction to HTML, CSS and Javascript course were led by two U.S.-based non-profits, Q.Me Place and Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD), in collaboration with the American Corner in Jimma. Q.Me Place is a non-profit implementer of the Q.Me platform. OHBD is a pioneer in literacy and K-12 educational advancement in Ethiopia including as the creator of the Ready Set Go! book series.

 

"OHBD believes giving young people critical coding, technology, and leadership skills they can apply to create value in their communities is critical for local, national and global economies. These skills will also help equalize opportunities for talented youth," says Ellenore Angelidis, Founder of OHBD and past long time Amazon Executive.

 

"Every country needs to own their IT."

 

The Q.Me platform was originally built to provide access to legal services to low-income individuals in Los Angeles, but is now being applied to multiple service relationships that can be carried out through web-based video or audio. The platform is being expanded throughout California, the United States, and now internationally.

 

"We're excited to partner with the American Corner in Jimma and Open Hearts Big Dreams," says Vinod Mapranath, Founder of Q.Me Place.

 

"The internet has made the world much smaller."

 

"We can use the same model to connect tutors and students from anywhere the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa match them sequentially, and pair them off into one-on-one sessions."

 

In addition to computer science, a reading tutoring platform that matches younger students and early readers with native English speakers is in early deployment.

 

The American Corner in Jimma is one of seven American Corners currently active or opening in Ethiopia. It is also part of a network of more than 700 American Corners globally. American Corners are resource centers, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassy, for information and programs highlighting American culture, history, current events, and government. Operated as partnerships, the U.S. Government provides equipment and materials while host-institutions provide staffing and the free use of space.

 

 

 

Q.Me Cup Participants

Q.Me Place, Inc.

Media: help@qmeplace.org

Source: Q.Me Place, Inc.