TRCYW Maathi Yosi Report 2019 | Page 57

TECHNOLOGY Issue 11. Application and relevance With a handful of individuals being technologically proficient, most participants exist somewhere in the middle and want to embrace the changes in technology to stay competitive. 1. Programming languages, specifically Python 2. Photoshop 3. 3D Printing 4. Dashboarding 5. Robotics A major issue that the participants highlighted was the relevance of acquiring these skills to their individual fields of work. Many felt that they will not be eager to attend possible workshops, if the skills taught were too generic in nature. For example, an Arts student will not be keen to attend a generic coding workshop. However, if the workshop were to specifically teach how programming language can be used in filmmaking, for example, then they would be more keen. Additionally, participants highlighted that most of the time, their acquisition of these skills is purely motivated by necessity and not interest. This is a possible limitation when it comes to planning tech-related programs for the Tamil youth. It may be difficult to get them on-board for long-term projects if we fail to make a clear relevance between the project and their fields of interest. Maathi Yosi | 2019 56 Some of the tools and skills which the participants discussed about are: