‘IBM STEM for Girls’ program introduced across 30 high secondary schools across three districts
IBM has said it has signed an Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with The Department of School & Mass Education, Government of Bihar to introduce ‘IBM STEM for Girls’ program across 30 high secondary schools across three districts that will advance the skills and careers of close to 13,000 students and in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.
The collaboration is part of a three-year programme between IBM and Indian state governments to increase the participation of girls and women in STEM careers.
The demand for a highly qualified workforce in India is quickly increasing with the acceleration of emerging technologies like Cloud and AI. The ‘IBM STEM for Girls’ program features a comprehensive approach that builds technical capabilities as well as life and self-actualization skills.
‘STEM for Girls’ is an IBM Corporate Social Responsibility initiative primarily aimed at improving education-to-work and career pathways for girls who are studying in Government schools. The program includes imparting training in digital literacy, coding and technology skills; 21st century skills and career development, with an aim to enable girls’ empowerment and increase their interest in STEM education and careers.
‘’Today skilling is not a choice but an imperative. Emerging technologies are impacting every profession and will completely change the jobs of the future. . Together, we’re working with IBM to align the curriculum and provide the right set of skills to next gen to succeed in future” said Sanjay Singh, IAS, Bihar State project director.
“If we want India’s talent base to compete in the global economy it becomes imperative to upskill them. Our collaboration with the Bihar government will help students to better align with market shifts and industry needs. IBM has been at the forefront and investing in the empowerment of the students to make them future ready and increase the talent pool,” said Manoj Balachandran, Head, Corporate Social Responsibility, IBM India Pvt. Ltd.
In March this year, IBM announced a significant engagement in India to advance the skills and careers of more than 200,000 (2 lakh) female students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. Today, IBM has collaborations with state governments including —Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab and are planned to widen to several other states. The program will enrol hundreds of more schools across the country in the coming months.
IBM new collar skilling initiatives in India also include:
1. A two-year Advanced Diploma Programme in emerging technologies created in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, which will be available to 100 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), including 50 all-women ITIs, over the next three years. IBM will also offer internships of up to five months to some students, presenting an opportunity for them to further deepen their skills and understanding in emerging fields such as Cloud and AI. Currently 40 ITI’s have been enlisted to initiate the 2 years diploma program in this academic year
2. As part of IBM’s ongoing engagement with the Government of India targeting young innovators through the Atal Tinkering Labs initiative, some 4,000 mentors and 600,000 mentees will benefit from a unique AI-powered Mentor Platform. Developed with the IBM Watson cognitive engine, the platform monitors mentor and mentee interactions to provide personalized support to those using the platform. IBM has thus far on-boarded 2,500 mentors, including 300 IBMers, to this platform by collaborating with the national Mentor of Change mission.
