TCS expands goIT program to 10 North American cities

NEW YORK / CINCINNATI: Tata Consultancy Services, a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, today announced the expansion of its goIT student technology awareness program, initially launched in 2009 in Cincinnati, OH and now planned for 10 cities across the North America in 2014.

For the past six years, TCS has aimed to inspire students to pursue education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic (STEM) fields, with goIT featuring skilled TCS employee volunteers teaching computer science courses in high schools and middle schools, conducting ‘Train the Teacher' workshops, and holding three-day summer camps.There will be eight million STEM jobs in the U.S. by 2018, with 71 percent of such roles representing the field of Computing. Furthermore, 80 percent of the fastest growing U.S. occupations require STEM skills.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), between 2013 and 2023, there will be two jobs available for every graduate with a Computer Science (CS) degree, and more than 1.4 million jobs created by 2020 that require CS and programming skills (but only 400,000 CS college graduates to fill those jobs). goIT is TCS' signature STEM program designed to increase student interest in CS education and careers through in-school, out-of-school, formal, and informal engagements. It is offered free of cost for students, covering career awareness workshops, hands-on technology education, teacher training, and parent orientation.

Since its launch, the goIT program has engaged more than 7,000 students across 35 school districts, with promising results. In fact, 70 percent of participants reported an increase of interest in STEM disciplines, and goIT schools reported a 27 percent increase in high school students choosing STEM disciplines in college."In today's digital age, there is a huge demand for skilled technology talent in the tech sector and across all sectors. We need to prepare the next generation of workers to harness the power of technology to solve real world problems," said TCS' Surya Kant, President of North America, U.K. and Europe. "Through the goIT program, technology professionals from our company are engaging with students across the country and expanding their outlook on potential computer science career opportunities."The sixth annual goIT Cincinnati program will include two camps this year, a middle school camp from June 12-13, and a high school camp from June 16-18, due to enormous interest from younger students, parents and the public school system.

This year, U.S. Representative Brad Wenstrup of Ohio's Second District, will be attending the high school program on Tuesday, June 17 to speak with 82 students from 13 school districts about the importance of STEM educations and programs like goIT.