There are few big corporations in the world who spend a great deal of time and money in the interest of the society; however, it is not always just for good public relation (PR).
In many scenarios, these big companies are actually pretty passionate about their causes and many actually are the driving force behind changing hundreds of young lives for the better. Each year big corporations initiates programs and spend millions of dollars in helping to expand the minds and the opportunities available to the next generation of potential tech-whizzes, writers and scientist.
At this time of year, when charitable giving is on many people’s minds, it can be useful to take a look at the ways that some of the biggest profound tech companies in the world are investing in education.
Below are list of how some tech companies are helping young minds to learn, get access to technology, and even preparing them for a better future;
HEWLETT-PACKARD
IT giant HP conducts a variety of educational programs for young people. And, one of the biggest endeavors is the HP Catalyst initiative, which enables HP to expand its global network of education and develops more effective approaches to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
The goal is to transform STEM learning and teaching, and to inspire students to use their technical and creative ingenuity to address urgent social challenges in their communities.
Further, HP also offers $40,000 grants to teachers who perform top of the list in the ways of using technology in the classroom. Moreover, the company also sponsors a worldwide summit on educational innovation.
MICROSOFT
Similarly, Microsoft is one of the recognized corporations in charitable giving. When it comes to support education, it has developed a number of educational initiatives, competitions, and programs to help young minds and teachers over past few years.
Further, they offer educational institution with free or low-cost software and computers. The company also boosts programs that go from elementary school to college and beyond.
Their famous DigiGirlz program helps high school girls a chance to learn about, use, and explore careers in technology. In addition, university and college students can take advantage of mentoring and internship programs, as well as low-cost training to improve career opportunities.
IBM
IBM is very well-known company for providing educational programs and donations for a period of time. One of the renowned IBM’s education funding has been the Learning Village software, which allows teachers to better use technology in their lessons, tailoring and monitoring it much more effectively.
Further, reinvent Education campaign launch in 1994, which contributed nearly $100 million to educational causes has been the biggest investment in education. Part of this reinvention program includes the Academic Initiative, which helps to train school teachers and professors with technological skills.
Google has largely focused on improving access to computer, engineering, and science education and they have come up with a number of programs, including a worldwide science fair that encourages students to innovate and engineer things well beyond the norm for their grade levels and programming competitions that offer high school and college students the chance to participate in real world development.
They also offer college and university scholarships, and some of their recognized programs include; BOLD Internship program, CS4HSLEAD, Computer Science Summer Institute program, Google FUSE retreat, Computing & Programming Experience, Program for computer science, and the Google Teacher Academy.
VERIZON
Verizon is an American based cellphone giant, which has been famous for their donations to education in USA. They also won the Award for Philanthropy in Public Education from the NEA in 2009.
The award recognized the company’s long-term commitment to education and literacy. At the core of the award was the company’s Thinkfinity website, a project that has gained the company worldwide recognition. Thinkfinity is an amazing portal for educators, providing free ideas for lessons, professional development, helpful videos, educational tools, and even a social network for teachers.
In addition, the Verizon Foundation also donated millions of dollars to create communities, nationals, and online literacy programs that help young people, including adults to learn to improve their reading, job, and technology skills.
