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Infosys Foundation USA Announces Grants to Expand Inclusivity of Computer Science Education Among Young People
[November 18, 2015]

Infosys Foundation USA Announces Grants to Expand Inclusivity of Computer Science Education Among Young People


SAN FRANCISCO, November 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Grants Will Help More Than 6,000 Young People, and Follow the Foundation's Inaugural Crossroads Event That Challenged Experts and Luminaries Across Disciplines to Reimagine Computer Science Education 

Infosys Foundation USA, a non-profit organization focused on bridging the digital divide in America, today announced new strategic grant partnerships with Girls Who Code, CodeNow and ScriptEd. These organizations focus on delivering computer science and coding education to middle and high school students through curricular and extracurricular programs nationwide. The grants follow Infosys Foundation USA's inaugural Crossroads event at Stanford University, which, for the first time, convened more than 50 policymakers, educators and nonprofit leaders to discuss and apply design thinking methodologies to reimagine computer science education in the U.S..

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Vandana Sikka, Chairperson - Infosys Foundation USA, said, "While the Crossroads event spurred a vigorous debate with multiple perspectives on how best to make computer science education more inclusive, it reaffirmed my belief that computer science is not only for software engineers. Rather, it is a fundamental skill that is permeating every discipline and that can ultimately bridge many of today's social and economic divides. Our grantees are disruptors, taking innovative approaches to bringing computer science education to more young people, particularly to underserved communities. Our Foundation is proud to support their efforts." 

Alan Kay, Turing Award winner and computer science pioneer who spoke at the Crossroads event, called on educators, policymakers and corporate America to not only rethink the way we teach children, but to question the underlying assumptions on which our current education system was built. The grant recipients share this belief that meaningful change will require collaboration inside and outside of the existing education system, and will use the grant money to extend computer science and coding education to students at high school level or below, across the country - through clubs, workshops, digital programs, curricular programs and more.

Girls Who Code provides digital programs to help young women build their coding skills. Funds from Infosys Foundation USA will support 500 clubs nationwide, training instructors and recruiting volunteers for these clubs, and equipping them with materials and supplies - all of which will help extend Girls Who Code clubs program to 6,000 new students.

CodeNow focuses on helping students from underserved backgrounds access extracurricular coding education. It will receive a grant to teach up to 200 new students in workshop environments, and some of these students will also be invited to participate in a summer internship program.



ScriptEd helps under-resourced public schools and their students access innovative computer science education programs and resources. Funds will be used to rollout the program in up to five new schools and 100 new students.

The Foundation also recently partnered with Level Playing Field Institute to hold a hackathon in Atlanta, Georgia, specifically for students from diverse backgrounds to learn coding and the business skills necessary to bring their mobile app ideas to life. The hackathon was organized in collaboration with Morehouse College, Platform Summit and the City of Atlanta.


Additional resources:  

- Infosys Foundation USA 

- Infy Maker Awards

About Infosys Foundation USA 

Infosys Foundation USA is focused on bridging the digital divide in America by supporting high quality computer science education and coding skills with a particular focus on under-represented communities. It aims to give children and young adults the skills they need to become creators, not just consumers, of technology.  In pursuit of this mission, in 2015 alone, the Foundation has partnered with many internationally acclaimed non-profits and institutions like Code.org, New York Academy of Sciences, DonorsChoose.org, and the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, Infosys Foundation USA recently committed a million dollars to the Infy Maker Awards to inspire makers across the U.S. to demonstrate creative excellence in making projects with genuine impact.

Learn more at http://www.infosys.org/USA and follow on Twitter @InfyFoundation or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/InfosysFoundationUSA

About Infosys 

Infosys is a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services. We enable clients, in more than 50 countries, to stay a step ahead of emerging business trends and outperform the competition. We help them transform and thrive in a changing world by co-creating breakthrough solutions that combine strategic insights and execution excellence.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY), with US$ 8.7 billion in annual revenues and 187,000+ employees, is helping enterprises renew themselves while also creating new avenues to generate value.

Safe Harbor 

Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.

SOURCE Infosys


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