The Linux Foundation has partnered with nonprofit online learning platform edX to launch OpenStack course. Called Introduction to OpenStack, the massive open online course (MOOC) is aimed to provide students a detailed understanding of OpenStack cloud technology.
The new course is targeted primarily at system administrators (sysadmins) and IT professionals who are looking to deploy OpenStack on their next project. “To keep current with their profession, sysadmins of all stripes must have at least basic knowledge of cloud technologies, especially OpenStack,” said Clyde Seepersad, general manager for training and certification, The Linux Foundation, in a statement.
“We knew edX was an ideal partner to help increase the pool of talent qualified in OpenStack by providing a platform to make high-quality education easily accessible to people looking to build rewarding careers managing OpenStack clouds,” Seepersad added.
OpenStack is already a leading platform for private cloud deployments. This enhances the demand for individuals with OpenStack skills.
According to a recent Open Source Jobs report from the Linux Foundation and Dice, 51 percent of hiring managers consider experience with OpenStack and other cloud technologies are driving open source hiring decisions.
“Skills development is a key success factor for the OpenStack community,” said Heidi Bretz, director of business development and alliances for the OpenStack Foundation. “The Certified OpenStack Administrator program is helping solve this problem, and efforts like the Linux Foundation’s Introduction to OpenStack are a great way to bring the technology to a wide, global audience of professionals interested in developing skills for the next generation of IT careers.”
The OpenStack course gives a high-level overview of the cloud platform and serves as the first step for programmers who want to take the Certified OpenStack Administrator exam. It provides the knowledge required to determine the need for OpenStack cloud solutions in the IT operations. Also, the MOOC offers enough details to let technology enthusiasts set up a small-scale OpenStack test environment and gain experience with the cloud support.
Third MOOC by the Linux Foundation
This new course is the third edX MOOC offered by the Linux Foundation. The very first course by the organisation, Intro to Linux, has already surpassed the mark of over 600,000 students globally, while the second one, Intro to Cloud Infrastructure Technologies, was launched just a couple of months back.
“We are proud to work with the Linux Foundation to offer their third MOOC to the edX global learning community,” said Anant Agarwal, edX CEO and MIT Professor, in the joint statement. “Linux is helping learners gain the essential training needed in the growing networking and cloud computing disciplines to improve their careers and gain a competitive edge in the workplace.”
Students can enroll for the OpenStack MOOC for free. However, a verified certificate of completion will be available at a charge of $99.
[…] Apart from the DevOps course, the Linux Foundation has three MOOC on the edX platform. The first course was an introduction to Linux that already reached over 600,000 students. Most recently, the community got a beginner’s guide on OpenStack. […]