[October 29, 2014]

Samsung Teams Up with Girls Who Code to Launch a National Mobile App Challenge

Women represent close to 50 percent of the labor force in the United States, but they hold less than 25 percent of jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In an effort to bridge this gap, Samsung (News - Alert) Telecommunications America, LLC (Samsung Mobile) will work with Girls Who Code (GWC) to create an immersive digital curriculum and a mobile app development competition, Samsung Mobile App Challenge.

GWC is a national nonprofit organization that works to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. Samsung will extend these efforts through the use of its state of the art technology, such as tablets and laptops and will work closely with experts in the field of coding to deploy a challenge-based curriculum that will spur excitement and interest amongst female participants in this field.

The Samsung Mobile App Challenge will enable Girls Who Code members, young women in 6th to 12th grade, to work together to design and code a mobile application that addresses a need in their school or community.

"Samsung wants to level the playing field and provide more opportunities for women to increase technology skills and better prepare them for a career in STEM," said Gregory Lee, president and CEO of Samsung Telecommunications America and Samsung Electronics North America Headquarters. "In order to expand STEM education and career opportunities to women, we have to give girls exposure to STEM via an accessible, fun experience with real world learnings - and we're doing just that through this partnership."

The Samsung Mobile App Challenge aims to remove the stigma associated with STEM to inspire girls to see STEM as an exciting, interesting discipline to pursue in school and beyond. GWC clubs, hosted by schools, libraries, and community-based organizations, bring the GWC model of teaching technology to middle- and high-school girls around the country. Clubs work on a semester basis, providing at least 40 hours of module-based instruction per semester. The Samsung Mobile App Challenge is an extension of curriculum for the mobile app module that will deploy to each club, and will be taught to club participants by the local GWC expert instructor.

"In true Girls Who Code spirit, the Samsung Mobile App Challenge enables girls to use technology to solve a problem relevant to them," says Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Girls Who Code. "The Challenge shows girls that computer science is all around us in our day-to-day lives, and that learning this skill set can empower them to effect positive change."

The mobile app module will align with the Samsung Mobile App Challenge, which will be launched this fall exclusively for Girls Who Code club members.

About Samsung Telecommunications America

Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, (Samsung Mobile) a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets, wireless infrastructure and other telecommunications products throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of TVs, smartphones, tablets, PCs, cameras, home appliances, printers, LTE (News - Alert) systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 286,000 people across 80 countries with annual sales of US$216.7 billion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code is a national nonprofit working to close the gender gap in technology. Through its Summer Immersion Program and Girls Who Code Clubs, the organization is leading the movement to inspire, educate, and equip young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. Additional information is available at www.girlswhocode.com.

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