In January we were lucky enough to have been able to attend and speak at the BelFOSS Free Software Conference at Queen’s University, Belfast. It was an insightful day full of talks, panel discussions and pizza! Bill Quinn was there to represent Future Cert and LPI certification as he gave a great speech on Open Source Careers, Jobs and Certification – available for viewing here.
A little more about BelFOSS…
The BelFOSS Conference is arranged by the School of EEECS at QUB to showcase and raise awareness of Linux and Free/Open-Source Software (FOSS) use in Belfast. Aimed at students, IT professionals and hobbyists the talks show how FOSS software is used locally in charities, in research and in global businesses. The event aims to raise awareness about demand from employers for skills and careers in Linux/FOSS.
What did attendees say?
Primarily aimed at students, attendees at BelFOSS were local and predominantly male. All said that they would recommend the event and were happy that it was a full-day filled with activities that all ran on time! The event has been considered a big success as everyone’s expectations were met or succeeded.
What were the highlights of the event?
The list of highlights was as long as the agenda, with many attendees saying that all of the talks were useful. The variety and interactivity of the event was a big plus for a lot of the audience. Software demos, learning of new projects, real-life examples and case studies all helped make the topic more interesting and inspiring. It was fantastic to see Bill Quinn making an appearance in the ‘most interesting/useful’ column, as well as attendees saying it was very good to learn that it is possible to certified for their Linux skills. Finding out how open source and Linux skills can be applied in the real world and seeing successful businesses put their FOSS skills into practice was a common positive theme in the feedback.
Thinking ahead to future events, attendees thought that the next conference could be spread over two days with even more speakers and demonstrations and, of course, there could always be more pizza!
Want to know more?
If you weren’t able to attend the BelFOSS Conference and you’d like to find out what we talked about on the day, check out the agenda for links to powerpoint slides. To keep up to date with open source and Linux news, certification and jobs follow us on Twitter and Facebook.