The German Testing Board (GTB) cooperates with the Malaysian Software Testing Board (MSTB) in the introduction of „Certified Tester” courses at Malaysian universities. The German professional association for software testing experts provides for this purpose course materials which were developed specifically for seminars at German universities. The materials have been used for some considerable time at more than 40 universities (Certified Tester training events) in order to prepare students for the Certified Tester Foundation Level exam. For several years, this  globally recognized training scheme, which is developed by the International Software Testing Qualifications Board, has been brought to German lecture halls by the experts of the GTB.

„Since 2007 we have been supporting German universities in the provision of free courses for students. In addition, we give exam fee grants to students. When the MSTB inquired, whether we could make the know-how gained in this field available for launching this initiative in Malaysia, we naturally agreed”, says Prof. Dr. Ina Schieferdecker from the Free University of Berlin, who coordinates the cooperation with the MSTB at the GTB.

Specialists for Malaysia’s IT industry
The MSTB initiative is currently being tested or will soon be tested at seven universities in the country. The following universities participate in the program:  Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Four of the participating universities have started the initiative and are already teaching course contents of the Certified Tester training scheme; the other three will start to do so with the start of the next term in February 2012. All participating universities supplement existing software engineering courses with the subject matter of software testing, which is based on the contents of the Certified Tester scheme.

The initiative is a significant part of Malaysia’s effort to train more specialists for the fast-growing market of software testing services around the world. According to studies, organizations currently spend more than 50 billion Euros per year to acquire quality and security for software systems and applications through testing. This value can be captured mainly by service providers that have well-trained and qualified testing specialists at their disposal.

„The software testing market is growing strongly. In line with this trend, demand for specialists, that are capable of executing effective and efficient software tests, increases worldwide. Training initiatives such as the ones promoted by the MSTB in Malaysia or the GTB in Germany are a very good method to meet this demand”, says Horst Pohlmann, Deputy Chairman of the GTB.

Launch ceremony
In order to give the initiative a binding framework, the MSTB and the participating universities exchanged declarations of intent about their cooperation during a festive ceremony. The exchange of the written declarations took place at the opening of the „Software Testing Straight Talk“ in Kuala Lumpur, a high-ranking professional convention. The event was chaired by the Malaysian Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr. Datuk Haji Faillah Haji Yusof. Among the guests were numerous further representatives from the government and from universities. The GTB was represented by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ina Schieferdecker and by its Deputy Chairman Horst Pohlmann.

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