This fall semester, IBM is running the 2009 Master the Mainframe Contest for college and university students across the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec). High school students are also encouraged to compete!
No experience with mainframes is necessary. In fact, the contest is designed for students with little or no mainframe experience, increasing with difficulty as the contest progresses. Students just need to bring drive and competitive spirit, and they will be ready to compete.
Why compete in a Mainframe Contest?
Prizes!
The prizes up for grabs in the 2009 Master The Mainframe Contest include:
- $100 pre-paid debit cards
- Lenovo S10-2 netbook computers
- 22" Samsung LCD HDTVs
- Trips to the mainframe lab in Poughkeepsie, NY
- Custom Master the Mainframe T-shirts
Experience!
Today's mainframes are growing in popularity and require a new generation
of mainframe experts. This contest is designed to equip students with basic
skills to make them more competitive for jobs in the enterprise computing
industry. Participation in the Master the Mainframe contest could give
you the edge you need.
To help employers locate the best contestants, all students who successfully
complete Part 2 of this year's contest will receive an invitation to upload
their resumes to the IBM Student Opportunity System,
an invitation-only resume database accessible by IBM clients and Business
Partners.
Did you know that 25 of the top 25 banks worldwide run on System z, IBM's
mainframe computing system? Seventy-one percent of Fortune 500 companies
are also System z clients. Find out more reasons to learn about mainframes (PDF, 29KB).
When is the contest?
Student registration begins: 08 September 2009
Contest runs: 05 October - 29 December 2009
The contest is running right now! Click on the Students tab to register and begin the contest challenges.
Who can compete?
To compete, students must have an educator at their institution enrolled in the IBM Academic Initiative. Students, ask your educator to follow the instructions on the Educators tab; enrollment takes only about 10 minutes. By enrolling, your educator will gain access to IBM products and resources at no charge.
Not sure if your school has an educator enrolled in the IBM Academic Initiative?
Send an email to zskills@us.ibm.com for assistance.