Linux Australia strengthens focus on education

Linux Australia has appointed its first official education officer in a bid to further promote education and certification within the Linux community.

The committee’s first education representative is Linux Users of Victoria (LUV) group president Jason King. As well as liaising with education institutes across Australia regarding Linux courses and certifications, King will be responsible for overseeing LA’s activities relating to the Linux Professional Institute (LPI). LPI, a non-profit organisation, was founded to provide vendor-independent Linux courses and certifications for open source professionals.

Commenting on the education officer’s position on the Linux Australia members’ mailing list, LA president Pia Smith said LA is keen to develop its role in the expansion of LPI across Australia. LA is currently the only LPI affiliate in the local market.

“We currently have seven people Australia-wide prepared to proctor exams in an effort to bring affordable quality certification to all the community,” Smith said. King is one of those qualified to conduct LPI exams.

“Education is important, and that [LPI] certification certainly helps in many ways, from helping up-and-coming engineers prove their ability to making us more professional. As we form relationships with more education institutions, this [education officer] role will extend to those.”