NEWS
Knowit’s charity campaign donated hundreds of children's software testing books
Finnish ICT companies and associations have risen to the challenge issued by Knowit to donate software testing books to schools around Finland. The campaign aimed to better meet tomorrow’s ICT society’s needs by providing software education to developers and testers of the next generations. ICT sector’s effort towards the school world got official recognition when the donation campaign culminated by giving a Diploma of Donated Books to the Finnish Minister of Education, Li Andersson, in autumn 2021.
We have a concern that coding schools and books alone aren’t enough. Therefore, we need to share the knowledge with the new generation in an early phase. Writing a book around interesting themes of testing and fantasy was already very inspiring. But the best part was to hear the praise from children, teachers and other adults who find the book inspiring and engaging”, comments Kari Kakkonen, Director, Quality and Competences at Knowit Solutions Oy.
Kari Kakkonen is the author of the Dragons Out! testing book for children. The book was published simultaneously in Finnish and in English. The book explains software testing in plain terms using an analogy to a full-blown fantasy story featuring dragons, knights and children who grow into knights. Knowit and over 20 other companies involved have donated hundreds of Dragons Out! books to Finnish schools. In addition, ICT companies and organizations that have pre-ordered the English version of the book have donated books for schools in the USA, China, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Poland, and Sweden during autumn 2021.
VALA Group was the first company that accepted the challenge and joined the campaign with Knowit. Teemu Pesonen, Head of Operations & QA Services at VALA Group: “We feel very deeply about software testing and were glad to be able to contribute to the donation campaign by buying books for schools but also the children of our employees”.
We at Knowit want to share and contribute with our knowledge and competence. Knowit has participated in charity campaigns yearly and now it’s our chance to make an impact with our actions.
“We have a clear view for the future needs of utilizing technology for building a humane and sustainable future. And we also have a strong belief that companies have to make an impact on our society to make it better. The Dragons Out! book is an excellent way to do this. We can combine benefits of children, society and the ICT sector”, says Markus Kääriäinen, Quality and Automation Business Unit Director, Knowit Solutions Oy.
For more information, please contact:
Kari Kakkonen, Lead Consultant & Director, Training and Competences, Knowit Solutions Oy, kari.kakkonen@knowit.fi +358 40 523 9004
Markus Kääriäinen, Quality and Automation Business Unit Director, Knowit Solutions Oy markus.kaariainen@knowit.fi +358 40 512 4755
Päivi Mönkkönen, Head of Communications and Brand, Knowit Solutions Oy, paivi.monkkonen@knowit.fi +358 50 3632746
About the author
Mr Kari Kakkonen has over twenty-five years of experience in software testing. His company Dragons Out Oy promotes software testing for children. He works at Knowit as a trainer and consultant in software testing, agile, DevOps and Artificial Intelligence. Kari is on the Board of Directors of TMMi, and he was previously six years in the Executive Committee of ISTQB, the largest software testing organization globally. He is co-author of the Agile Testing Foundations book and an active conference speaker.
Kari Kakkonen received on September 30, 2021, the highest recognition about software testing world in Europe, the EuroSTAR Software Testing Excellence Award, mainly due to the great initiative and success of educating children about software testing through the Dragons Out! book project.
Christina Johansson
Head of Communications