The discussions at DrupalCon 2024 led to the launch of Drupal Open University, an initiative that makes Drupal lessons accessible to colleges and universities.
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"It started as a simple idea,"
says Jean-Paul.
Jean-Paul Vosmeer
"But on the flight back from Barcelona, multiple people were already working on the initiative."
"The main goal is to introduce students to Drupal and open-source principles. This will also help more students transition into careers as Drupal developers. Many students are familiar with open-source systems like WordPress, but Drupal is much less well-known among them,"
Jean-Paul explains.
Course material
There is now more clarity about the course material. Jean-Paul states,
Hilmar Hallbjörnsson, Source: Soundcloud
"Hilmar Hallbjörnsson – also known as the 'Drupal Viking' – has been teaching Drupal at the University of Reykjavik for some time. The curriculum we want to offer through Drupal Open University is partially based on his material. We are also incorporating study material used by Acquia to train their interns and employees."
"Finalizing the curriculum is currently one of our main goals. In addition, we are actively reaching out to colleges and universities. Some of them already use Drupal for their internal systems, which gives us a connection,"
says Jean-Paul.
"Another approach is through students who are currently interns at Drupal agencies. Via these channels we aim to establish a strong presence for Drupal into classrooms."
Hands-on Drupal experience
Jean-Paul emphasizes that while theory is important, students should primarily learn Drupal by doing.
"We are exploring ways to integrate hands-on experience into the curriculum, for example, by having students work on real Drupal projects such as API integrations. One idea is a Spotify statistics dashboard."
How Drupal courses differ from other training programs
Finally, what does Jean-Paul see as the biggest difference between Drupal Open University and training programs like Drupalize.me and Drupal TV?
"With Drupal Open University, we are targeting students who are not yet aware of Drupal’s existence. The programs mentioned are mainly designed for experienced Drupal users who want to deepen their knowledge. Our focus is on introducing young people to Drupal, and this educational approach is one way to achieve that."
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Ruud de Bruyn
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The Drupal University initiative is a community-driven project focused on bringing Drupal into the academic world. Its mission is to introduce students to the power of Drupal and foster the next generation of Drupal developers.
Ruud de Bruyn A boss with (search) words, Ruud shakes the texts out of his sleeve as if it were nothing.
