The Linux Foundation’s Open Mainframe Project has announced the focus areas for its 2017 internship program.

The focus areas include OpenStack, Blockchain, Linux Monitoring Tools and Anomaly Detection Engine for Linux Logs. The release said that mainframe has become an important platform for supporting emerging cloud technologies, such as Blockchain and OpenStack, because of its security capabilities and role as the system of record processing some of the most important transactions and data for major institutions.

In addition, Open Mainframe Project announced an expansion of its university partnerships with eight new academic members, bringing the total membership to over 30. The new academic members, joining the project to help develop new talent and open-source innovations for the mainframe, include Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, HTL Donaustadt, Academic Mainframe Consortium, Hogeschool Gent, EPSI - Academic Institution, European Mainframe Academy, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

"Today's mainframe is NOT your father's mainframe. The Open Mainframe Project is bringing forth today's newest technologies, e.g. learning machines, blockchain, cognitive programming, advanced security and sustainable cloud computing, to the world's fastest, most mature and efficient system. If you thought you knew mainframes... look again.  Membership in the Open Mainframe Project has given us a front row seat, in the new evolution of mainframes”, said Robert Dahlberg, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering, Computer Science Department.

The Open Mainframe Project was created to increase collaboration across the mainframe community and develop shared tool sets and resources. A core part of the project's mission is to involve academic institutions to assist in teaching and educating the mainframe Linux engineers and developers of tomorrow.

"The Open Mainframe Project has seen great success in enabling the mainframers of tomorrow through Linux and Open Source," said John Mertic, Director, Open Mainframe Project. "The growth of the project, particularly with academic institutions, showcases the impacts being made in continuing to expand the mainframe ecosystem and attract the next generation of developers to advance the technology."