TCS and Toronto District School Board Host 18 Schools in ‘goIT’ App Development Finale
Top Teams Compete from 2,000 Students Engaged Across 18 schools in 2016-2017
TORONTO and MUMBAI, APRIL 26, 2017 /3BL Media/ -- Tata Consultancy Services, (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, along with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), today co-hosted its ‘goIT’ student competition finale as a culmination of its partnership during the 2016-2017 school year that engaged nearly 2,000 students across 18 schools.
Opening the day’s proceedings in front of nine grade-eight and nine grade-nine teams, Ontario Minister of Education, the Honourable Mitzie Hunter, stressed the need for more public-private partnerships to prepare Canadian youth with latest technology skills.
goIT is TCS’ signature community engagement program in North America that increases interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education through app development, design thinking and robotics. TCS launched goIT in Canada with 10 schools in 2014-15, as a public-private partnership with TDSB and the Information & Communications Technology Council (ICTC), to inspire and prepare more students for 21stcentury careers. During the 2015-16 school year, 394 TCS volunteers worked with students in 18 TDSB schools, resulting in more than 23,000 STEM skill-building hours.
TCS’ partnership with TDSB builds upon its robust global community initiatives that have inspired more than two million young people in STEM education and careers. In Canada, TCS goIT has served more than 5,000 students through partnerships with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Skills Ontario, Boys and Girls Club, Canadian Association for Girls in Science, Kidnetix Kidz Association, and Toronto Community Housing. TCS is also a founding partner of NPower Canada, focused on closing the diversity gap and providing young adults with opportunities and tech skills to help them achieve their potential. Moreover, more than 5,300 TCS Canada employees have volunteered across 25 cities to support causes of health, education and environment since 2010, working with organizations such as Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, United Way Canada, and Canadian Red Cross.
"Our unique partnership with Canada's largest school board and the contributions of our world-class professionals have helped to engage thousands of Toronto students via in-school curriculum, inspiring them to confidently explore new future career possibilities," said Soumen Roy, Head, TCS Canada. "This exciting journey with TDSB has set an exemplary benchmark on how the public and private sector can come together to improve and empower our next generation for future readiness."
Since its launch in 2009 to address the growing tech skills gap, goIT has engaged more than 13,000 students in 50 cities across the U.S. and Canada, especially those students from underrepresented groups, minorities and girls. goIT inspires youth to use technology to solve real world problems through design thinking, mobile app development, robotics, and mentorship from TCS employee volunteers.
Students work in teams to identify a problem, generate possible solutions, wireframe their prototypes, develop and test their mobile apps, and present their work to peers and judges. In turn, goIT participants are introduced to design thinking as a problem-solving framework, acquire critical thinking experience while troubleshooting designs, improve their ability to work in teams, and refine their communication skills through public presentations.
About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS):
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model™, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 387,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 45 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of U.S. $17.6 billion for year ended March 31, 2017 and is listed on the BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited. For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com.
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