Industry Summary Articles

Tata Consultancy Services and USC Viterbi School of Engineering's Institute of Engineering, Community and Cultural Competence (IEC3) announce the expansion of their collaboration, via a new IEC3 Tech Camp for Girls focused on "Engineering the Tools of Scientific Inquiry" with emphasis on aerospace. 

Now in its second year, the program will focus on delivering real-world experiences in the field of aerospace to 32 highly motivated middle school girls from predominately Latino and African-American backgrounds. The collaboration features goIT, TCS' signature education program, functioning as the cross-sector model that connects the contextual relevance of industry and the pedagogical know-how of educational organizations. 

The week-long day camp held on the campus of USC, puts middle school students in the roles of experts. Students will be using CAD to design and build 3D print rockets. The program will also leverage NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab's InSight Mission to Mars curriculum to learn about the current mission and its relevance to the camp's focus of engineering the tools of scientific discovery. Campers will learn the mission's goal and study the structure of the Red Planet. The exercise will demonstrate how that research will likely benefit our understanding of other planets in our solar system. The hope is to inspire campers to consider the potential impact of aerospace and rocketry in helping to answer questions in solar system science and encourage them to learn more about the universe that we inhabit.

"In IEC3, we see the power of exposing students to culturally relevant, hands-on, project-based learning experiences designed to spark an interest in aerospace," said Michelle Flowers Taylor, Founding Director of IEC3. With this year's camp featuring an in-person tour of a leading space company, the girls' mind-sets and visions for what's possible for themselves going forward will never be the same." 

IEC3's Taylor explained her interest in focusing this year's program on aerospace and aerospace-related industries, "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 have a leadership role in this growth and this exciting time for the industry."

Since its inception in 2009, goIT has engaged over 17,000 students in 59 cities in North America. goIT offers a free and flexible program for schools, non-profits, and other youth-serving institutions to help students engage actively in computational thinking by using a student-driven exploration of community-centered issues. Students work in teams to identify an issue, generate possible solutions, wireframe their prototypes, develop and test their mobile apps, and present their work to peers and judges.

"We are pleased to have joined forces with IEC3 for the second year in a row," said Lina Klebanov, Head, Corporate Social Responsibility, TCS. "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." 

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering is committed to diversity in the field of engineering. The 2017 entering class was 44 percent women— a number significantly higher than the national average.

To view the original press release, please click here.

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