Bermuda College students who helped create the first app created as a result of a new Workforce Development partnership “to design, maintain and enhance mobile apps that make government better and more efficient”.
Announcing the official launch at a news conference this week, Premier David Burt noted that Treefrog – the new Government Notification Application, will help r”government relay information to its citizens and allow residents to communicate issues to the Government”.
When he met with the students involved back in February, he said: “The pledge that I made to them at that time was that this will not be the end of their experience.”
That was “just the beginning”, he said.
“I want the Bermuda College to be a place where the Government’s vision of our young people learning how to build mobile applications becomes a reality.
“The Treefrog will send notifications to mobile devices based on notification category, turned on and off by the user,” he added.
The categories include:
- School notifications
- Updates on government services
- Emergency weather notifications
- Bus & ferry updates, etc
- All notifications will be issued to the public immediately after they are posted on the Government Portal
Premier Burt added: “This project is a testament to the talent we have in Bermuda and the vision this Government has for creating new opportunities for our youth, creation of jobs in this economy and providing opportunities to Bermudians first.
He also noted that “upgrading the skills of Bermuda’s labour force through a solid workforce development plan is critical to our long-term prospects for broad-based and inclusive economic growth”.
“The Government will continue to invest in all of our people, but especially our young people, so that no one is left out of the success that we are working to bring to the Island,” said Mr Burt.
“That is the reason that starting next year every public school graduate with a 3.0 GPA or better will be able to attend the Bermuda College free of charge.
“And that is why in the last two years, 500 Bermudians, young and not so young, have been able to upgrade their skills or earn a degree at the Bermuda College due to new financial aid grants to ensure that the size of your bank account does not restrict your access to higher education.
“Today, we are witnessing what our young people can do if give this opportunity.”
He also noted that the students came up with the name Treefrog for the app during “a brainstorming session”.
“Tree Frog, when you think about it, it is an appropriate name for a Bermuda news and information app,” said Mr Burt.
“It is uniquely Bermudian and can be heard from one end of the island to the other.
“Though today is the launch, this is just the start of this project..”
Overtime, he said the app will “evolve”.
“And I am relying on these young men to make that a reality. I ask Bermuda to support these young men, by installing and sharing this application,” he added.
Moving forward, he said: “The will purchase the development tools to develop Tree Frog and provide support to the Bermuda College to upgrade this lab and provide these four young men, and others who want to learn, additional opportunities to expand their horizons in application development.
“This government makes no apologies for investing in our young people, preparing them for a future in technology.
“On behalf of the Government and the people of Bermuda, I want to say congratulations on a job well done.”
- Photos Supplied Including Premier’s Visit to Meet Students in February 2019
