Amazon and Educational Initiatives collaborate to provide Computer Science Education and Foundational Learning to 50,000 tribal girls in Telangana
Amazon Future Engineer (AFE) is a comprehensive childhood-to-career program aimed at increasing access to computer science education for children. Over the course of the past year, Amazon has associated with Educational Initiatives (Ei) to implement AFE program in 50 schools across Telangana to introduce computer science to children and to improve their Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) skills using Ei’s Personalized Adaptive Learning (PAL) tool, Mindspark in AFE labs. AFE supports students who may typically lack these opportunities to transition into aspirational computer science careers. The program, started in September 2021, aims to reach 50,000 girls in three years to improve their economic and life outcomes.
To commemorate the successful completion of a year of the program, impacting 10,000 girls across 50 tribal schools, and to launch the next step towards scaling the program to 200 tribal schools, Educational Initiatives (Ei) organized ‘Computer Shiksha Lo Nuthana Adhyayam – Supporting future engineers’ event on 22nd September 2022 at TWAS Muthyalamma Gudem.
Hon’ble Minister of Scheduled Tribe Welfare, Women & Child Welfare, Smt. Satyavathi Rathod graced the event as the Guest of Honour, which spotlighted the key highlights from AFE’s implementation in the last one year. While setting the stage for the progression of the program into 200 tribal schools, the event was an important step in bringing computer science education to the students of Telangana from all economic and social backgrounds.
Smt. Satyavathi Rathod mentioned, “In line with Government of Telangana’s focus on providing quality education to all, especially for tribal girl students, it is heartening to see that students from TWAS Muthyalamma Gudem School get access to quality computer science education through the efforts of Amazon through its Amazon Future Engineer program and Ei. We look forward to partner with them to expand this program to other tribal schools from across the state.”
With a belief that while talent and passion is present across all young people, opportunity is not. Amazon Future Engineer program was launched in India in September 2021 with a vision that every young person in India should have equitable access to computer science education and career opportunities. Through the program, students are given exposure to the world of computer science and different technology careers through interactive and engaging activities. They are provided with diverse and engaging computer science learning avenues at all educational levels. Students who are interested in pursuing computer science careers are supported through scholarships and skill building programs.
Anita Kumar, Head – CSR and Corporate Philanthropy, India & APAC at Amazon said, “We believe in the power of computer science to unleash creativity and unlock human potential. Over 3,50,000 students have explored and learned computer science, have got exposed to various careers in the tech industry and have built creative projects in the past one year. In Telangana, we have gone a step further to add mathematics and language learning in the remote tribal residential schools in collaboration with Tribal Welfare Department of Telangana helping over 8,700 students to excel. We will learn from this initiative and work with our partners to scale our impact.”
Ritesh Agarwal, the Associate Vice President of Ei Shiksha, shared his thoughts on the importance of computer science education and the effectiveness of the program, “As we are making leaps towards a digital-first world, careers in computer science are naturally expected to boom. We must ensure that no student with the interest and determination to pursue a career in computer science is held back due to lack of access to effective pedagogy or resources. In Telangana, it is the coming together of Amazon’s vision, the tribal department’s support and the eagerness of the school leadership that has resulted in the program’s success. We must continue working together to make sure that the students are set up for success in their life and career.”