FAQ

General

Developer’s Hub or D’Hub is a centralized online platform that provides various resources and tools to developers like you. It’s designed to help you in the process of building software applications, networking, accessing mentorship and valuable training. The platform encourages, enables, supports and hosts the collaborative development of open-source programs and applications of specific interest to the Government with the aim of improving public service delivery and growing the software development industry of Trinidad and Tobago.

Our strategic partners for D’Hub include but are not limited to the Linux Foundation, Coursera, Cisco, Simplilearn, iGovTT among other national, regional and international associates.

D’Hub intends to provide a plethora of benefits centered around three core elements namely, Learn, Develop and Earn where you will have access to services and resources that enable you to upskill and receive relevant industy certifications, utilise helpful developer tools, gain access to essential technology for building out your solutions and unlock your earning potential.

D’Hub seeks to attract our brightest and enthusiastic minds locally who have interest in the development of software solutions. It’s open to anyone with current software development skills, those looking to enter the industry and even our secondary school aged students excited about software development.

D’Hub offers a gambit of services which include but are not limited to:

Current Services:

  • Training
  • Developer Tools (Git)
  • Revenue Opportunities (D’Hub Challenge)

Future Services

  • Innovation Spaces
  • Incubators and Accelerators
  • Networking Opportunities

Registration

In an effort to tailor your user experience and ensure that you get the most out of the D’Hub Platform, your information is being collected and securely stored to inform the continued evolution of the ecosystem and its member benefits. Additionally, to curate your learning content access, we would need to better understand you and your experience as a developer to recommend the best courses for your growth and development.

All of your data will be kept private and protected and would not be disclosed or sold to any third-party agencies or organizations. For a more in-depth legal disclaimer, kindly consult with the website’s “Terms and Conditions” and “Privacy Policy” pages at the bottom of the footer menu to further inform your usage.

The registration form comprises of six (6) parts and should take no longer than five (5) minutes to complete in full. It is recommended to have a valid form of National Identification (Drivers License, Passport, ID Card) nearby for this process.

Your educational background should be specified within the respective section of the form where requested. Do note however that we have included a range of responses for this section to account for all variations of schooling as well as for those who may be self-taught or have not completed formal schooling. All developers whether experienced or aspiring are welcomed to join the Hub.

Registrants are unable to save their progress and come back to the form. It is advised to take your time to complete the form in one sitting.

Upon clicking “Register”, developers should take the following steps:

  1. Check your email inbox for a link to activate your account.
  2. Once you activate your account, you will be redirected to the activation page to change your password.
  3. Upon successful change of your password, you will then be redirected to the login page to sign in.
  4. Enter your new credentials and log in to the hub to start your journey with us.

Account Management

To be eligible for registration on D’Hub, you must be:

  • A National of Trinidad and Tobago
  • Currently residing in Trinidad and Tobago
  • Age 18 years or older

In order to register to join the D’Hub platform, interested participants are asked to complete the registration form in full and to the best of your knowledge. Upon receipt of your information, persons who meet the criteria for entry would be allowed to become a member of the platform. Persons are asked to keep a form of national photo identification nearby for use during registration. 

To register to join the D’Hub platform, you will require:

  • A valid email address
  • A valid form of photo identification (National ID, Driver’s Permit, or Passport)

Persons interested in registering are asked to complete the registration form in full and to the best of their knowledge. Minors who may not have access to national IDs should be registered by their parents.

Persons wishing to sign up for D’Hub should be at least 18 years of age. 

While D’Hub hopes to attract the eyes of our experienced and budding software developers, we also welcome persons who may not have much or any technical expertise within this area and are enthusiastic about learning and retooling themselves.

In order to access the training courses provided by D’Hub, persons must be registered on the D’Hub website firstly before they gain access to our designated learning platform.

At this moment, login to the D’Hub platform would be via usage of a username which in this case would be your email address that you used to register and a password of your choosing. There is currently no two-factor authentication.

Members are encouraged to utilize the Live Chatbot Support feature on the website to treat with troubleshooting matters and any issues that may arise whilst using the D’Hub platform.

Members would be able to change their passwords. All other information would be managed by the administrators of D’Hub with critical attention to data privacy.

Any reliable browser would be suitable for accessing D’Hub however we do recommend usage of  Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox.

Currently users do not have automatic access to a password reset function. This should  be resolved in the near future. In the meantime, should you need to have your password reset, do reach out via our support channels (email, live chat) to have this process completed manually.

Learning Platform

The courses offered via our D’Hub platform are free of charge for all members. No costs shall be incurred on your path.

Members are automatically enrolled into a course once they decide to enter the course. We recommend previewing the course first if you are unsure whether the content is suitable for you at this current stage or unrelated to your interests.

Members can enroll in as many courses as they’d like to however, we recommend only enrolling in courses that you intend on committing to at an instant. Once you have successfully completed a course, you should then enrol in your next desired course.

Only members of D’Hub can access courses specifically set aside for the D’Hub platform. To gain access to courses, you be a registered user of D’Hub.

All of our courses are issued by well respected and accredited international education partners such as the Linux Foundation, Cisco, Coursera and Simplilearn which offers members the opportunity to gain certifications that would be respected locally and globally.

Once you have successfully completed a course and passed the quiz at the end, a link to your certificate will be sent to your email for download directly from the course provider.

Courses currently have no deadline for completion.

To withdraw from a course, developers would have to follow the below steps:

  1. Click on the course itself onthe page where you enter the course.
  2. Click the drop down on ‘Course’ from the toolbar
  3. Select the un-enrol me from [course] button

Yes, you can re-enroll into a course that you previously withdrew from.

Your past progress is saved so when you re-enroll you’ll see where you last left off.

Members can enrol in as many courses as they’d like to however, we recommend only enrolling in courses that you intend on committing to at an instant. Once you have successfully completed a course, you should then enrol in your next desired course.

Courses that members are enrolled in would be displayed on the dashboard of the learning platform when they log in.

Members are able to browse all of the courses offered on the D’Hub website by navigating to the “All Courses” Menu Tab on the Learning platform.

All of the courses accessible via the Learning Platform would not have a final exam at the end for completion. In the event that you see no exam and/or quiz, do know that there isn’t an issue with the course itself and you should still receive your digital badge of completion.

D’Hub currently offers beginner, intermediate and advanced courses from the Linux Foundation.  While the beginner courses may be accessible for free on Linux Foundation’s website,  the intermediate and advanced courses require course fees ranging from USD 99 to USD 1200.  Being a member of D’Hub allows you access to these intermediate and advanced Linux Foundation courses at no cost to you.    

We are currently working behind the scenes with our other Edu-Partners such as Simplilearn and Coursera to update our course offerings with many more options that would also be of great benefit to members of the hub. As the program evolves  we will continue to add more courses from various partners and will be sure to notify members as soon as they go live. 

GitLab

No, GitLab is free to use on Developer’s Hub. You don’t need to pay a subscription fee to access and use GitLab.

Yes, GitLab provides tools and features to help you import your existing repositories from other platforms. You can import repositories from Git, SVN, Mercurial, and other version control systems into GitLab.

You will have access to a wide range of features, including repository management, issue tracking, code reviews, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), project wikis, and more.

You can access comprehensive documentation for using GitLab on the official GitLab website, https://docs.gitlab.com/ . The documentation includes detailed guides, tutorials, and references for various features and functionalities of GitLab.

If you encounter any issues while using GitLab, you can contact support on https://dhub.mdt.gov.tt/contact-us/ . Additionally, you may also want to engage support from the GitLab community, https://about.gitlab.com/community/ . GitLab community offers a community forum and issue tracker, where you can ask questions, report problems, and get assistance from the community.

By default, GitLab allows you to keep your repositories private. However, it also provides options to make repositories public to other members of Developer’s Hub. You have control over the visibility settings of your repositories. Those who are not part of Developer’s Hub will be unable to view or gain entry to your repositories.

Developer’s Hub does not impose restrictions on the software licenses you can use for your projects. You can choose and apply any open-source or proprietary software license that aligns with your project’s requirements. 

The GitLab Pages function is disabled on the version of the software hosted on the D’Hub Platform at the moment. Should this change in the future, we would inform all users of such via an update.

Currently, SSH options for cloning/working with projects in GitLab are disabled on the version of the software hosted on the D’Hub Platform.

D'Hub Challenges

The Developers’ Hub Challenge is a digital innovation challenge that seeks innovative ideas and business models that can contribute to Trinidad and Tobago’s Digital Transformation Journey. The contest is promoted by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and will take place over a three-year period, with the first contest starting in 2023.

The Challenge is open to citizens of T&T, with legal residence in T&T. It is a fantastic  opportunity for creative, innovative and committed problem solvers to propose and implement innovative digital solutions and business ideas that aim to address important public sector, social, economic, and environmental needs in Trinidad and Tobago.

Developers and members of the public can view the current D’Hub challenges by navigating to the “Challenges” tab in the Main Menu Tab, hovering over the drop down menu and selecting the “2023 Challenges” tab. 

To be eligible to participate in the D’Hub Challenge Series, Participants must satisfy all of the following requirements: 

  • Be a citizen of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago 
  • Be a legal resident of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago 
  • Be domiciled in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago 
  • Must be a minimum of 18 years of age as at the date of the launch of the Challenge
  • Must be a registered member of the Developers’ Hub 
  • Must be an individual or a team comprising no more than six persons who individually meet the specific requirements defined above 

Employees, interns, contractors, and office-holders of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, iGovTT and partner organizations, affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, advertising and promotion agencies, representatives, and agents (“Contest Entities”), and members of the Contest Entities and their immediate families (parents, siblings, children, spouses, and life partners of each, regardless of where they live) and members of the households (whether related or not) of such employees, officers and directors are ineligible to participate.  

There are Seven (7) simple steps: 

1. Join D’Hub if you haven’t already. 

2. Download and Review the Challenge Guidelines. 

3. Review the Challenges and select up to two (2) challenges that you’d like to work on.  

4. Come up with an awesome solution.  

5. Prepare your submission using the Guidelines provided. 

6. Stay tuned for notifications on when the Application form goes live on the website. 

7. Submit Your Application online before the deadline: August 25th, 2023.

There are two categories of Awards under the D’Hub Challenge Initiative: 

Concept Awards – For each Challenge, up to three (3) Developers / Development Teams can win An TTD 50,000.00 to develop their  Proof of Concept. The award will be issued at the end of the concept award stage (3 Months) upon successful completion of a pitch / presentation.  

Implementation Awards – For each challenge One (1) Developer / Development Team, can winTTD $350,000.00 to develop a Minimum Viable Product from their Proof of Concept.  This award will be disbursed upon achievement of agreed upon milestones over the six (6) month Implementation Period.

All registered D’Hub members wishing to apply for a particular challenge can do so by navigating to the application form available on the D’Hub Challenge pages via the “Apply Now” buttons. Kindly note that all guidelines outlined for the challenge remain in effect.

A proof of concept (POC) is a prototype that is developed to validate the feasibility and viability of a concept, idea, or technology. It is a preliminary stage in the development process, designed to determine whether a concept can be practically implemented and if it can deliver the intended results. The analysis and feedback from the POC will assist in making educated decisions regarding the project’s future, such as whether to proceed with full development, make changes, or abandon the concept entirely. 

For the purposes of this Challenge Series, a POC shall be a software prototype that includes a clear objective, demonstration of some core functionalities and features, scope and constraints, validation, analysis and evaluation together with associated documentation and artifacts which can include PPT, PDF, videos, and/or simulations as needed to support the concept’s validity and feasibility and the development approach for the specific challenge. 

A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a basic version of a product that contains enough features and functionalities to satisfy early users and validate the core concept. It is a fundamental part of agile development approaches, allowing development teams to quickly test their assumptions and gather feedback from real users with minimal investment. 

  

For the purposes of the Challenge Series, an MVP shall be a working piece of software that includes and/or speaks to core features, usability, functionality validation, scalability, data collection and testing to ensure fit and feasibility for the use case and organizational needs outlined in the specific challenge. 

Developers participating in the D’Hub Challenge will own the IP for the solution they create and will therefore be able to develop it further, modify it and sell it if they so choose. It is also a requirement for  MDT/iGovTT and our partner MDAs (Ministries, Divisions and Agencies) to be granted a license  to install, adapt, modify and use the software, using internal and external resources. This ensures, for example, that in the event a developer is no longer able to proceed with assigned tasks, we  will be able to continue with the project’s implementation, development, expansion and integration ensuring that the nation is still able to benefit from the solution. 

Yes, interested participants who think that they may already have a working software solution that meets the needs identified in the challenge descriptions are welcomed to submit such when the application form goes live. Remember to review the Guidelines for all further requirements.

A comprehensive and in-depth overview of all the D’Hub Challenge Guidelines can be found on the “Guidelines” page under the “Challenges” menu tab. If you have further questions surrounding the D’Hub Challenge, we recommend that you utilise the approved channel of communication for such queries. Inquiries concerning the Challenge can be sent via e-mail to dhub-info@gov.tt.  

All resources shared at the information session inclusive of the recording of the session can be found by clicking the following link: Info Session

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