Arrow Electronics Highlights CSR Efforts at Social Innovation Summit
Arrow Electronics is committed to guiding innovators forward to a better tomorrow. The global technology company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program supports this mission and has evolved from providing general support to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education programs, to actually teaching students how to innovate.
Arrow Global CSR Director Joe Verrengia explained this evolution at the recent Social Innovation Summit 2016 in San Francisco, and he encouraged other companies and educators to follow suit.
“Innovation is the fuel of the 21st century, and it should be taught as a process and a skill set,” Verrengia said during a panel discussion on the topic of education and innovation. “Arrow has recognized the need for innovative employees to stay competitive, and we’re actively working to create a talent pipeline with the skills and abilities to innovate.”
Arrow invests in innovation-education programs that emphasize creativity, prototyping technology designs and competition. These programs include Mouse, FIRST Robotics. Junior Achievement Business Week and the Imagination Foundation’s Cardboard Engineering Challenge.
Verrengia also said that students need to practice the qualities of being an innovator, which include curiosity, collaboration, associative or integrative thinking and a bias toward action, experimentation and iteration.
“Students may not get graded in curiosity, and standardized tests may not evaluate how well they can iterate,” said Verrengia, “but these are critical skills to have in the constantly changing world of technology. At Arrow, we call it the world of Five Years Out—the tangible future of new technologies, new materials, new ideas and new electronics that will make our lives better, smarter and more inspired.”
About Arrow Electronics
Arrow Electronics is a global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. Arrow serves as a supply channel partner for more than 100,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and commercial customers through a global network of more than 460 locations serving over 85 countries. Learn more at www.fiveyearsout.com.
