Students no longer want to do programming by hand

15 client-server licenses made it possible to introduce GeneXus training in a Data Systems course last August 2000. This is a second-year course offered for students pursuing a degree in Systems Analysis with a major in development. GeneXus was also introduced in the Professional Practicum offered in the third year. Since there was a large student population, only the best students were allowed into this course, said Guillermo Ruiz, the teacher in charge of carrying out this project. Next March, 40 students, gathered in less than a year, will become the first generation to receive a certification after submitting an application developed with GeneXus.

Ruiz has worked with GeneXus in Wella Argentina since its DOS version. He has taught at university level in the Province of Buenos Aires for 12 years. He explained that the provincial State does not invest in educational centers, which leads teachers to look for alternatives by seeking sponsors in the corporate world. The teacher and long-time GeneXus user claims that ARTech responded to this call. State education did not provide the CASE tools. Ruiz got in touch with HST, GeneXus distributor in Argentina, in order to incorporate GeneXus into State education. Gisella Bertelli, the person in charge of training at HST, made the contact with ARTech and smoothed the way for the realization of the project.
Ruiz, who has been a teacher for 12 years, says that at the educational State-level, it is difficult to find a match between the career, and the market and work reality since resources are very scarce. He claims that these limitations usually foster the study of system design methodologies. Then, when students arrive in the market, they do not know about the CASE tools, which are an important part of this market.

According to Ruiz, GeneXus defeated other CASE tools because it has managed to hang on through the years. Besides, ARTech is always one and a half years or two ahead of technologies being launched in the market.

Young students were shocked at GeneXus because they found a powerful tool that shook them out of the traditional approaches, said Ruiz. GeneXus allowed them two obtain in half an hour, an application that took them two days to program manually in a course parallel to the GeneXus course. After this surprise "they no longer wanted to do programming by hand".

Ruiz aims at expanding GeneXus throughout the whole student body by adding new GeneXus computer labs at his educational center, and by taking in new teachers who are familiar with the tool.