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The Linux Foundation scholarships offer funds to developers and IT professionals who show interest and promise in becoming more active in and knowledgeable about Linux and open source development but cannot otherwise afford to attend a Linux Foundation training course. Each scholarship recipient will have the fees of one training course covered for them.

This year saw record interest in the scholarship program, with more than 1,000 entries received across five categories. This is almost a 50 percent increase over 2013. The most popular submission category was SysAdmin Super Star, followed by Developer Do-Gooder and Whiz Kids. Applications were submitted from six continents, and applicants averaged 29 years of age, showing the prevalence of interest in Linux from across generations and geographies.

Scholarship recipients in each category are as follows:

Sandeep Aryal, Nepal, SysAdmin Super Star. Sandeep is a systems administrator for the Nepalese government and has a baseline level of knowledge about Linux. Sandeep hopes to use the knowledge he gains through a Linux Foundation training course to encourage government offices in Nepal to move to open source software.

Eudris Cabrera, Dominican Republic, Developer Do-Gooder. Eudris is a software developer for the Dominican Ministry of Finance and teaches Linux at Open University. Eudris is also creating a small data center in a rural area to increase Internet access to 300 local students. He plans to share the information he learns from a Linux Foundation training course with his students to help open source adoption to expand in the Dominican Republic.

Alyson Calhoun, United States, Women in Linux. Alyson started her IT career as a Windows systems administrator but quickly transitioned to working on Linux. She was recently promoted to Linux engineer at her company and plans to use the knowledge from a Linux Foundation training course to encourage more women to pursue careers in IT.

Christoph Jaeger, Germany, Linux Kernel Guru. Christoph has been using Linux since college and as his knowledge and experience have grown, he has worked towards becoming an active member of the Linux community. He submitted his first patch one year ago, and the thrill of having it accepted has lead to several dozen more patches. He hopes a Linux Foundation training course will help him to contribute at an even higher level.

John Mwenda, Kenya, Whiz Kids. John is a fourth-year Computer Information Systems student at Kenya Methodist University. In his spare time he volunteers to teach Linux to children and has started a project to digitize the Kenyan constitution so it can be accessed easily and freely by everyone. He also runs a small startup offering Linux solutions and services to businesses and hopes by learning more in a Linux Foundation training course he will be able to help advance open source software adoption through his country.

As demonstrated in the 2014 Linux Jobs Report, demand for Linux and open source professionals is higher than ever. The Linux Foundation strives to provide programs and support to help meet this demand. The full report can be accessed at https://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/linux-foundation/linux-adoption-trends-end-user-report-2014.

Earlier this year, the Linux Foundation launched new certification exams for systems administrators and engineers to help existing professionals demonstrate their skills and to increase the talent pool of Linux talent worldwide. This effort, combined with existing training programs, is helping to address the growing demand for Linux professionals. Scholarship recipients will be better prepared through their training courses to take one of these exams in the future.

"The incredible level of interest in Linux education is inspiring and demonstrates that Linux and open source development will continue to be strongly supported by developers and users around the world," said Amanda McPherson, chief marketing officer at The Linux Foundation. "I’m happy we can help aspiring Linux professionals improve their skills and go on to share the knowledge they gain with others with this and other programs."

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux and collaborative software development. Founded in 2000, the organization sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and promotes, protects and advances the Linux operating system and collaborative software development by marshaling the resources of its members and the open source community. The Linux Foundation provides a neutral forum for collaboration and education by hosting Collaborative Projects, Linux conferences, including LinuxCon, and generating original research and content that advances the understanding of Linux and collaborative software development. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

Trademarks: The Linux Foundation, Linux Standard Base, MeeGo, Tizen, and Yocto Project are trademarks of The Linux Foundation. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.