Written by Kuang Jian, Dean of School of Software Engineering, BUPT
This is a guest blog post by Kuang Jian, Dean of School of Software Engineering at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT), a university directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and co-built by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology(MIIT) in China. It is a comprehensive university with information technology as its main feature, engineering and science as its main focus and a combination of engineering, management, humanities and sciences as its main pursuit, which becomes an important base for fostering high-tech talents.
This blog will provide an overview into how BUPT works with the IBM China University Program and how students were introduced to Open Mainframe Project’s Zowe, an open source software framework for the mainframe that strengthens integration with modern enterprise applications.
Dean Kuang, students & IBMers at the IBM China Systems Lab
BUPT established a partnership with IBM China’s University Program in1996 and has participated in several of the program’s initiatives. In fact, the team from the School of Software Engineering in BUPT won the second place award in the ICBC-IBM FIN-Tech Contest in 2018.
Through the FIN-Tech contest experience, we had some basic knowledge of IBM Z and learned the value it brings to the market. Unlike distributed platforms such as Linux, it’s not easy for students in a university to have hands-on experience on the mainframe. So when Open Mainframe Project’s Zowe was introduced to us, we found it very attractive and wanted to know more.
From initial research, we learned Zowe was released last August to break the silo and reduce the steep learning curve of IBM Z. The Zowe framework provides interoperability and using the latest web technologies among products and solutions from multiple vendors. It helps enable developers to use the familiar, industry-standard, open source tools to access mainframe resources and services. An innovative framework based on a modern technology stack, Zowe provides the perfect opportunity for students to become the next generation of mainframers.
In addition to learning more about Zowe, the IBM China Systems Lab invited us to visit the China Systems Center for a mainframe tour. It was an amazing experience that inspired our students to join the Zowe community.
IBM Z expert introducing IBM Z14 and Storage DS8000 to Dean Kuang & students
We are collaborating with IBM to develop a native Zowe application plugin with configurable page and widgets to view data provided by IBM Z automation and monitoring products. We recently kicked off this project with three postgraduate students, who have already been assigned to work together with IBM advisors. We believe our students can complete the project successfully with their passion and the support from IBM and Open Mainframe Project. We are also eager to extend our knowledge and skill to open source and IBM Z and contribute code back to the Zowe community. Stay tuned for more details and updates…
