The Hindu Business Line : IEEE launches certification course for software skills

Dr Rangachar Kasturi, US-based President of the IEEE Computer Society, flanked by Ms Angela R. Burgess (left), Executive Director, and Ms Providence More, Manager (Strategic Planning), on the sidelines of the Great Indian Developer Summit in Bangalore last week. - Anand Parthasarathy

Anand Parthasarathy

Bangalore, May 25 The Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has launched a certification programme for software proficiency. It will recognise software skills at two levels: Certified Software Development Associate (CSDA) and Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP).

The CSDP is the only software development certification that has all the components of a professional certification: exam-based testing demonstrating mastery of a body of knowledge; extensive experience base and continuing professional education, explained IEEE Computer Society’s global President Dr Rangachar Kasturi, who is Professor at the University of South Florida’s Computer Science department in Tampa, Florida (US).

He was delivering the concluding keynote at the five-day Great Indian Developer Conference held in Bangalore last week. The certification will be of particular interest to Indian software professionals — the two streams of .Net and Java alone are known to number over 10 million.

The CSDP is intended for mid-level software engineering professionals who have at least 9,000 hours of experience in at least six of the 11 knowledge areas the exam covers. The Associate-ship is for entry-level professionals and has less stringent criteria.

The certification programme, which was recently launched in the US, would soon be extended worldwide. Interestingly, the standards for the certification saw over 60 India-based professionals and academics participate in the creation process, Dr Kasturi added.

Ms Angela Burgess, The Society’s Executive Director, told Business Line that IEEE’s computer professionals were playing a key enabling role as neutral ‘umpires’ in dozens of committees charged with creating global standards for information technology and communication systems ranging from WiFi and WiMax to digital TV and music.

Biggest independent IT show

The Great Indian Developer Conference, which packed the Tata Auditorium complex of the Indian Institute of Science for five days last week, was the first — and biggest — developer event, not tied to any one tech player or technology.

Conducted by the fairly young Bangalore-based media and event company SaltMarch Media, the conference saw over 3,000 professionals deliberate on subjects like .Net, Web 2.0 and Java even while they listened to industry icons like Mr Jesse James Garrett, known as the father of the Ajax programming environment; Oracle Vice President Mr Rahul Patel, Java evangelist Mr Yakov Fain and Mr Chad Boyd, SQL expert. Indian IT leaders participating included Nokia Managing Director Mr D. Shivakumar and Mr Srini Koppulu, Managing Director, Microsoft India Development Centre.

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