As the technology and engineering industries continuously face diversity challenges, many companies, investors and academic institutions are creating programs and initiatives to address these representation issues – including Intel Corporation and Georgia Tech. By investing $5 million into The Intel & Georgia Tech Program over the next five years, Intel aims to expose women and underrepresented minorities to opportunities for inclusion in the technology sector.
“Filling the tech industry pipeline with diverse students is critical to increasing the number of diverse engineers and computer scientists in the field,” said Rosalind Hudnell, vice president of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer at Intel. “The goal of this program is to inspire and support more women and underrepresented minorities to earn technical degrees so we can hire them down the road – we want to foster those future tech innovators.”
Announced at the first-ever White House Demo Day, this venture is part of Intel’s dedication to achieving full representation of women and underrepresented minorities in the U.S. workforce by 2020 – along with Intel’s previous $300 million Diversity in Technology initiative funding programs to support the eradication of underrepresentation in technology, gaming, engineering and computer science.
The Intel & Georgia Tech Program will foster and develop Georgia Tech’s existing initiatives, including:
*Summer Engineering Institute: A three-week summer engineering program for rising 11th- and 12th-graders interested in learning basic engineering and computer science techniques to solve real-world engineering problems.
*RISE: “Retaining Inspirational Scholars in Technology and Engineering (RISE) provides financial support to talented underrepresented minority and non-traditional students.”
*Peer-2-Peer Mentoring: “The mentoring program provides specialized guidance and support to undergraduate students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while also helping them adjust to the climate and culture at Georgia Tech.”
*SURE: “The Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) is a 10-week research program to attract qualified minority students from across the country into graduate school in the fields of engineering and science.”
*Focus: “The Focus program invites college juniors and seniors from around the country to attend a three-day event designed to raise awareness of graduate education among underrepresented students. Participants learn about financial resources, visit research laboratories, network with other scholars and receive help with the graduate school application process.”
“It is a national imperative that the U.S. continue to enhance the engagement of students of all backgrounds in STEM fields to create a more robust economy,” said Gary May, dean and Southern Company Chair in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. “The higher education and private sectors must combine forces to achieve the impact that is necessary. As a national leader in producing outstanding underrepresented engineering graduates, Georgia Tech is pleased to partner with Intel in this transformative initiative.”
To learn more about Intel’s $300 million Diversity in Technology initiative, visit the Intel newsroom.
