A Million Reasons to Make - Infosys Foundation USA Launches the Infy Maker Awards

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Sep 25, 2015, 08:21 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, September 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Prizes and Grants Worth up to US$ 1 Million to Inspire the Spirit of Making Among Adults and Students

Infosys Foundation USA, a non-profit organization focused on bridging the digital divide in America, today launched its inaugural Infy Maker Awards program. The program is part of an ongoing commitment from Infosys Foundation USA to spark the spirit of making in everyday learning, and to celebrate makers of all ages across the United States who demonstrate creative excellence.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/589162)

Vandana Sikka, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation USA, said, "The future is - and always has been - invented by those who can make. Making is a foundational skill that all students must acquire. Both computer programming and making are experiential in nature and build key skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and more. With the Infy Maker Awards, we want to empower today's makers, at schools and in communities across the U.S., to inspire the next generation of inventors."

Infosys Foundation USA will award 50 US$ 10,000 Makerspace grants to schools, libraries and other community organizations. Each grant will be in cash and in kind, and will seed dynamic Makerspaces at each grantee location. These grants will be nominated by the student winners. Through these grants, Infosys Foundation USA and its partners will impact thousands of future student makers.

As part of these grants, Infosys Foundation USA will also partner with Maker Ed, a non-profit organization supporting educators and communities, to provide training and support to one hundred teachers and instructors from grantee organizations across the U.S. These leaders will become Infosys-Certified Maker Educators and support the Makerspaces.

Warren 'Trey' Lathe, Director of Maker Ed, said, "We're thrilled to be working with Infosys Foundation USA to bring the magic of making to communities everywhere. At a time when creating, making and trying things out aren't just educational, but also exciting, we are partnering with Infosys to further our mission to make every child - and parent - a maker."

In addition to the Makerspace grants, Infy Makers will commence the individual awards with two categories:

- School students: Up to 50 middle and high school students will win US$ 1,000 each

- Adults: Up to 25 adults (18 years old and over) will win US$ 10,000 each

A panel of distinguished technology, academic and community leaders will evaluate and award the winners. There will be three awards cycles stretching from September 2015 through June 2016. The cycles will begin on September 25, December 1 and March 1.

Illah R. Nourbakhsh, Professor of Robotics at The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and an Infy Maker Award judge, added, "The CREATE Lab brings experiential learning opportunities to local communities and shares many of the values of Infosys Foundation USA - most notably the importance of learning for life and the role of technology in greatly amplifying human potential. The Infy Maker Awards will inspire young people to be the makers and doers of the future, and ensure that computing skills are not only widely and easily accessible to children, but fun too. I'm delighted to serve as a judge and look forward to evaluating these creative maker solutions."

Still in its first year, Infosys Foundation USA is establishing itself as a supporter of education and training for computer science and related disciplines, with an emphasis on underrepresented students. Infosys Foundation USA provides up to US$ 10 million in grants to organizations working in these areas.

For more information on the Infy Maker Awards, submission process, and judging criteria, please visit http://www.infymakers.com

About Infosys Foundation USA

Infosys Foundation USA is a non-profit focused on bridging the digital divide in America. It aims to give children, young adults and workers across the United States the skills they need to become creators, not just consumers, of technology. Infosys Foundation USA supports education in computer science and related disciplines, particularly for those in underrepresented communities. Support includes grants and domain expertise for non-profit organizations involved in delivering services, research and advocacy. Infosys Foundation USA builds on the 20-year community-focused heritage of the Infosys Foundation.

Learn more at http://www.infosys.org/USA and follow on Twitter @InfyFoundation or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/InfosysFoundationUSA

The campaign will use #InfyMakers as we celebrate makers across America.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.

For further, information please contact:

Asia Pacific
Sarah Gideon
Infosys, India
+91 80 4156 3998
[email protected]

EMEA
Paul de Lara
Infosys, UK
+44 2075162748
[email protected]

Americas
Cristin Balog
Infosys, USA
+1 (650) 320 4126
[email protected]

SOURCE Infosys