The attention of Africa's software engineers, academics, technology enthusiasts and innovators will move to Johannesburg, South Africa in August 2015 as the country hosts the second Africa and Middle East Conference on Software Engineering (AMECSE).

Organisers are utilising all available channels – including social networks - to communicate the significance of the academic event, which runs from 31 August to 1 September 2015 at the Parktonian Hotel in Braamfontein, alongside the 3rd Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA) Summit.

The theme for AMECSE 2015 is Software Innovation for Boosting the Digital Economy, and researchers and practitioners will discuss the latest trends, recent innovations, experiences and concerns within the field of software engineering.

In a video message posted on Youtube, Adrian Schofield, ICT expert from the WITS Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) and General Chair for the Conference, said "The organisers have called on academic and industrial participants across the region to take this opportunity to submit their ideas for sharing with their peers in the region."

"The Conference sets out to explore innovations that will add value to the lives of people in the region."

According to Schofield topics to be covered will include smart cities, Internet of Things, Big Data, eGovernment and social computing.

As Schofield explains in the video, Johannesburg's Braamfontein area is the site of revitalisation underpinned by the development of the Tshimologong Precinct, a software skills and technology innovation hub.

Professor Barry Dwolatzky, JCSE director, believes the hub will serve as a key component of digital Johannesburg and the Gauteng province.

"I have absolute confidence that in the coming years, this hub will become an important element of digital joburg. I am tempted to say it will become the focal point of all things digital in Johannesburg and in our province, and we'll see that the hub becomes just a kernel, a seed of something that will be much bigger. And I am really hoping that 'much bigger thing' will be a technology cluster in Braamfontein and in central Johannesburg."

AMECSE and AfICTA will take place under the auspices of the Fak'ugesi Digital Africa Festival.

The inaugural Fak'ugesi was hosted by Wits University and took place in Braamfontein in September 2014. The event features stand-alone conferences, exhibitions, short-courses and workshops focused on Africa and the emergence of a digital culture.