CS:APP Visits Africa

I am on a visit to Nairobi, Kenya as part of a project to create a test that we hope will be used worldwide to determine whether someone is qualified to be an entry-level programmer. You can read more about that from our CMU Press Release.

Shortly after arriving, we visited Strathmore University, where I gave a presentation about CS:APP.  There were students and faculty members from several area universities.  The talk went very well, with interesting and insightful questions from the audience.  Perhaps the most striking response occurred when I showed our  map of schools using CS:APP as a text book as of Jan. 1, 2012:

 What stood out on this map, especially for Kenyans, was that we don't have a single adoption on the African continent!  There was a lot of discussion about why that could be.  I wish or knew!  Better yet, I hope that schools in Africa will see the value in teaching about computer systems from a programmer's perspective.