Microsoft Africa Development Centre (Microsoft ADC), the premier engineering center for Microsoft, has announced the commencement of its Game of Learners Clinic, a three-month intensive programme for students in the university and beginner developers across West Africa.

A statement by the firm said the programme is scheduled to commence in October 2021, and will allow participants to level up on .Net, JavaScript, Git, Azure, Software Design and Programme Manager Fundamentals.

It stated that the clinic, which is designed to introduce a fun, hands-on learning experience for students, is an 11-week programme and will begin with a development path where learners will attend free virtual clinics with specialized coaching and training that will allow them to acquire hands-on experience and cultivate a learner-led developer community.

According to the firm, the second core part of the programme will allow participants to learn about product requirement documentation, project management 101 and prioritization framework.

Speaking on the Game of Learners Clinic, the statement quoted the Managing Director, Microsoft ADC – West Africa, Mr. Gafar Lawal, as saying:

At Microsoft ADC, we recognize the creativity, innovation and passion driving productivity in Africa’s technology landscape and Game of learners presents a unique opportunity to be a strong driver of this community.

Our vision with Game of Learners is to create a platform where young developers and any other interested participants can build long lasting solutions to challenges using technology.

Looking beyond engineering, our focus is to begin to harness other skills that are invaluable in solving not only the problems of today, but also those of the future. With this programme, we are empowering young developers in Africa to achieve so much more.

While only 100 applicants will be enrolled for this year’s clinic, which commenced on October 5, 2021, over 1,000 applications were received for the Game of Learners Clinic from across West Africa, it said.

This reiterates the need for such a programme among young developers and students.

Microsoft ADC has made a commitment to increase the number of enrollees for subsequent Game of Learner’s Clinics in a bid to continually bridge the skills gap and equip developers to have more hands-on comprehensive knowledge.

Game of Learners Clinic is a free programme without borders as it provides a virtual environment where students learn computer science technologies and practices hands-on while they build impactful solutions for their community.

The programme’s activities are backed up with volunteers from Microsoft and participants have access to a wide range of coaches, mentors, judges, speakers and trainers.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.