Sharjah Department of eGovernment hosts programming workshops

Sharjah: As part of its participation in the second edition of the UAE Innovation Week, the Sharjah Department of eGovernment (DeG), is hosting workshops on programming language under the theme ‘Education, Awareness, Innovation’ from November 20 to 26 at Expo Centre Sharjah.

At the centre of the workshops is the ‘Aurindo’ programme — an open-source microprocessor platform that has been the cornerstone of thousands of programming projects spanning robotics, architecture, and even music.

A team of experts from DeG are conducting a series of workshops in which they teach and encourage participants to tinker with technology and develop a knack for technological innovations.

The first such session was held on Monday and educated participants about the basics of programming and building prototypes using the Aurindo motherboard, while the second workshop teaching similar practices took place on Wednesday. The conductors of the workshop taught participants to use the Aurindo chip to build a motion-detecting sensor that gives out a beep and triggers a flicker lamp.

Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, director-general of DeG, said: “Innovation has become an indispensable part of the functioning of various governmental institutions in the UAE… With each passing day, our lives are increasingly influenced by the impact of technology, where a great idea yearns to come to life. This is why we decided to dedicate our participation here at the UAE Innovation Week 2016, to ignite and support those minds who in essence will be the architects of the future.”

He added: “The Aurindo platform is characterised by being simplistic, compatible with all operating systems, easy to find and download, and neutral in nature. Comparatively inexpensive, it provides a suitable budget for students as well as schools. It can function on most computer software systems, such as Window, Macintosh OSX and Linux. It helps in exploring projects branching from a variety of fields and consequently can bring unlimited innovative ideas into reality.”

The concluding workshop will be held from 1pm to 2pm on Saturday.