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QuantumCrayon is a startup primarily based in South Africa, targeted on growing a group of technologists who will assist information native companies on their digital journeys by creating, evaluating, and implementing impactful expertise tasks that propel the companies into the long run. They primarily work on telecommunications and disruptive 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) applied sciences equivalent to augmented actuality (AR), Web of Issues (IoT), robotics, and synthetic intelligence (AI).
Introduction to QuantumCrayon’s instructional packages
Along with consulting with native companies, they provide on-line programs by their EduPortal website, in addition to associate with native non-profits to ship in-person instructional packages to underprivileged college students that supply enjoyable, quick, and sensible dives into digital applied sciences. QuantumCrayon lately ran two instructional packages, one with 30 highschool college students in Gqeberha (the tip of Africa) and one other with 75 highschool college students in Soshanguve (about 100km north of Johannesburg). Each of those packages included a curriculum targeted on IoT improvement.
Meant outcomes of this system have been to have college students:
- Acquire wider publicity to varied expertise domains.
- Expertise the fun of growing and making use of their very own expertise options to actual and native issues.
- Ignite an curiosity in expertise profession paths.
- Acquire consciousness of latest profession potentialities and obtain profession path steerage with a ‘breadcrumb path’ to observe in furthering their formal and casual instructional improvement.
“We’ve developed a expertise schooling program of programs designed to deal with among the abilities improvement challenges in our nation,” says Willem Boshoff, Director, QuantumCrayon Training. “Our goal is to encourage learners and supply them with sensible Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) abilities in order that they’ll additional their formal and casual instructional improvement in direction of new profession potentialities in expertise. Past expertise, we’re looking for methods to present the best variety of individuals the flexibility to positively influence their households, organizations, and communities.”
Getting hands-on with IoT
Studying IoT is just not simple. Educators and/or college students should choose each {hardware} and software program frameworks to work with. When making that choice, they should contemplate choices which might be simple sufficient to get began with, but extendable sufficient to discover ways to construct one thing of goal.
To get hands-on, the QuantumCrayon curriculum makes use of their very own ‘expertise toolkit’ of sensors and actuators, however the coronary heart of the equipment is the M5Stack Core2 for AWS IoT EduKit reference {hardware}. The {hardware} is full of on-board options to allow a large number of IoT functions out of the field. Learners can then broaden their capabilities to cowl extra use circumstances with a whole lot of plug-and-play growth choices.
To not additional disrupt or delay the training journey of pupils on account of pandemic restrictions, QuantumCrayon tailored the latest course conclusion to be run open air the place higher social distancing and air flow may very well be maintained. This manner, studying about coding and 4IR may proceed in a time-honored custom – open air underneath a shady tree!
As a part of the hands-on studying element, college students prototyped and demonstrated options to deal with challenges within the native minibus taxi trade. Some examples embody:
- Utilizing sensors to measure and show seat occupancy for COVID compliance.
- Utilizing sensors to rely passengers coming into/leaving the taxi additionally for COVID compliance.
- Utilizing smartcards to allow tap-and-go digital fare fee and enhance the passenger expertise.
- Utilizing programmable lights to show taxi locations and enhance buyer expertise.
- Deploying kits at a taxi stand and implementing good playing cards to hail precedence rides.
“To see what these younger college students are in a position to construct with minimal publicity to expertise and the true constraints they face is astounding,” stated Rashed Talukder, the pinnacle of the AWS IoT EduKit program. “QuantumCrayon has made edge utility improvement accessible and simple for learners who’re simply starting their IoT journeys.”
Making an influence locally
To this point, QuantumCrayon has seen enthusiasm for this system, working with a non-profit referred to as Mokgetha Thuto funded by the Telkom Basis to offer IoT coaching to a whole lot of learners. This system’s optionally available venture day, which was held on a public vacation simply after faculty exams, had 83% turnout. Submit-program surveys confirmed an almost 50% enhance in learners contemplating careers in expertise.
Over the following few years, primarily based on the success of this program, they plan to increase their programs, cowl extra AWS providers, and attain greater than 3,000 college students.
See some featured learner-created tasks from this cohort, exhibiting the breadth of options that novice learners felt succesful and assured sufficient to deal with after this system.
To be taught extra about QuantumCrayon and their mission of growing a group of technologists that can drive the fourth industrial revolution, go to their web site at edu.QuantumCrayon.co.za.
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