In the current age of information technology, Bangladesh needs equal participation of men and women to move ahead. The prerequisite for ensuring this participation is the skilled women in information technology. Therefore, the Bangladesh Open Source Network (BDOSN) has organized some skill development programs for girls in Comilla to encourage women to acquire skills. A programming camp and a job preparation workshop were organized at CCN University of Science and Technology in Comilla. Female students of the university participated in the events.
On March 4, the three-day program began with Grace Hopper Girls Programming Camp. The camp was inaugurated by the founder of the university Chowdhury, Prof. Dr. AKM Asaduzzaman, Prof. Ali Hossain Chowdhury and Iqbal Head of Computer Science and Engineering Department. About thirty students from the university's computer science and engineering department participated in the two-day camp. The BDOSN's academic coordinator conducted the two-day session with students about the basic concepts of C programming. Students were also introduced to online judge in programming competitions. Students learn how to participate in online programming contests. On the second day of the camp, the girls took part in an online programming contest. Umma Hafsa, a second-year student at the university, said, “I used to be thought the online programming contest as a scary thing. Today, after learning all about programming, it seems that from now on I will be able to participate in online content myself. After coming to camp, I insisted on practicing programming at home and I want to be an excellent programmer. ”
On the third day of the event, the students took part in a job preparation workshop. Here they learn how to prepare for the workplace, how to make a CV, and some of the rules for facing a job interview board. They understand the importance of soft skills as well as hard skills. Under BdOSN's ongoing project ESDG4BD, these activities are mainly aimed at increasing women's participation in information technology.