TCS extends collaboration with USC to set up IEC3 Tech Camp

Indian tech services giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has extended its CSR collaboration with US-based USC Viterbi School of Engineering to put up the second tech camp alongside the school’s Institute of Engineering, Community and Cultural Competence (IEC3). TCS support comes in the form of its popular goIT educational programme.

Established with the aim of incorporating greater cultural diversity in the field of engineering, the California-centred IEC3 Tech Camp is a week-long programme aimed specifically at middle school girls who hail from ethnically Latino or African-American backgrounds, usually those situated around the University of Southern California campus.

The programme is nestled within the domain of aerospace, accompanied by a general familiarisation with the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and is designed with the objective of “engineering the tools for scientific enquiry” amongst young girls from a variety of backgrounds.

To this end, campers are not only provided with mentorship from leaders in the world of tech, but are also exposed to a host of insightful practical experiences, including the use of computer-aided design software to build 3D-printed rockets. This year, the programme also includes a tour of Google’s office in Venice, California.

On the academic side of things, a large portion of the curriculum is informed by the InSight Mission to Mars curriculum developed by NASA and Jet Propulsion Lab, which includes information about the mission as well as in-depth structural information about the planet itself, thereby highlighting the possible applications of studying it.

“The aerospace industry is experiencing a boom as the result of the strong global growth of passenger and freight air transport demand accompanied by a growing demand for new aircraft and increasing competition between aircraft manufacturers. Young girls should be prepared to have a leadership role in this growth and this exciting time for the industry,” says Founding Director of IEC3 Michelle Flowers Taylor, explaining the emphasis on aerospace this year.

The mission is supported by TCS goIT – an educational programme also grounded in the STEM domain that was created to fill the gap between the 4.4 million STEM-related jobs that are expected to come up in the US by 2024, and the current composition of the talent pool. The programme was launched in 2009, and has since worked with over 10,000 students in more than 100 school districts across the country.

This will be the second IEC3 tech camp supported by TCS. “We are pleased to have joined forces with IEC3 for the second year in a row. By collaborating to offer a program that provides relevant academic challenges while cultivating self-esteem and female empowerment, we hope to help eliminate an important deficit in the fields of STEM and prepare young people for jobs of the future.”

TCS has been growing in prominence in the US market recently, not only in terms of its CSR efforts, but also through its business activity. The firm was named the 58th most valuable brand in the US in recent months, following closely behind a mammoth $2.5 billion contract with US-based insurance giant Transamerica to administer its annuities and insurance practices.