The Request
Break Through Tech (BTT) is dedicated to building a more equitable and inclusive tech ecosystem. Since 2019, Giant Machines partners with them to provide innovative educational programs that create safe and inclusive learning environments for all students.
The Details
US Employers have ‘diversity in tech’ hiring goals and want to hire young Black and Latina women, and non-binary candidates. They have a high potential for success in the industry, yet they are consistently overlooked. This is a result of a lack of relationships between city colleges and recruiting companies, as well as limited credentials as compared to these students' more privileged counterparts.
The Challenge
Level the playing field by exposing these students to computer science in a way that sparks curiosity and encourages a stronger growth mindset through rigorous problem-solving. Then build bridges with industry partners for career opportunities.
The Insight
In order to break down barriers in computer science education and careers, we must begin with educational opportunities. A continuous stream of programmatic opportunities needs to be in place to support women and other underrepresented individuals in tech, through their whole CS journey. From learning to write their first line of code to acing a technical interview, BTT and Giant Machines provides support along the way.
The Approach
Our team knows that a student’s first interaction with computer science can be a pivotal moment in shaping the rest of their CS experience. We set out to design a program that would result in young women becoming excited about exploring CS, build confidence in entering a historically exclusionary field, and develop community among their peers.
The Delivery
Ultimately, we created a week-long immersive program called Guild. This program is designed to help female-identifying students feel confident in their coding abilities and excited about the field of computer science. Through collaborative, and project-based learning, students explore front-end development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and design and develop a web application.
Our internal measurements of the program’s success expanded beyond coursework. We also designed the program to have a 8:1 ratio of students to teachers, an educational staff that was reflective of the students they were teaching, and a psychologically safe environment in which students could thrive without fear of failure.
THE RESULTS
After completing the course, students not only felt more confident in their abilities, but their understanding of key computer science principles increased. In Summer Guild 2022:
Since we started our partnership with BTT for their Guild program, we’ve taught over 850 students the foundations of computer science.
This program’s success has resulted in the additional collaboration with BTT on their Sprintership program, where hundreds of CUNY students have the opportunity to intern with top technology organizations. Giant Machines launches the program and provides tech training for the students so that they can excel in their internships.
THE REACTION
Summer Guild 2022 Participant
Run through our past projects and read more about our collaboration efforts with our partners.
Run through our past projects and read more about our collaboration efforts with our partners.
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