TCS Expands goIT Program to 10 North American Cities to Excite and Prepare Students for STEM Careers

Sixth Annual goIT Flagship Event to Occur in Cincinnati, Ohio

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Jun 13, 2014, 09:30 ET

NEW YORK and CINCINNATI, June 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tata Consultancy Services (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), 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.

"I am honored to participate in one of TCS' many inspirational and innovative goIT events," said U.S. Representative Brad Wenstrup of Ohio's Second District. "In Ohio and across the country, igniting an interest in STEM subjects and encouraging young students to explore Computer Science fields is a crucial step on the road to bridging the STEM skills gap in America."

Currently, less than 2.4 percent of U.S. College students graduate with a degree in CS, with just 12 percent of CS degrees awarded to women and a mere 17 percent of 12^th graders being both proficient and interested in STEM careers. Nine out of ten schools don't even offer computer programming classes, and in 30 of 50 states in the U.S., CS doesn't count towards high school graduation math and science requirements.

To help alleviate this growing problem, TCS has expanded the goIT program, and to date this year, it has entered three new markets, reaching local students from 23 new schools: partnering with US2020, Project Exploration and Boys and Girls Club in Chicago, IL; New Jersey Chamber of Commerce in Jersey City, NJ; and with Teach For America on a pilot program where TCS employees work side-by-side with their faculty to co-teach programming skills to students in New York, NY. TCS also participated in the national pilot of the STEM Career Accelerator Day, alongside STEMconnector®, PepsiCo, NASA, Honeywell, Arizona State University, Spark 101, and Teach for America. Students took part in interactive learning activities that connected coursework directly to career applications, with 300 high school students participating through in-person events and an additional 4,000 students engaging with STEM employers virtually via on-demand video.

"We need to prepare underserved groups, at-risk youth, girls, and minorities for STEM careers, and this was a key design factor while expanding the goIT program to new markets, schools and students," said TCS' Balaji Ganapathy, Head of Workforce Effectiveness, who oversees the company's Corporate Social Responsibility programs. "Computer Science education in K-12 is fundamental to create career readiness, and students benefit from engaging with industry professionals. Our employee volunteers derive immense satisfaction introducing the world of technology to students, and seeing them get excited with hands-on programming exercises."

This year, TCS will also be running the goIT program in Bentonville, AR; Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Midland, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Santa Clara, CA; and Toronto, Canada. The goIT program is a key component of TCS' larger STEM initiatives across the U.S. and Canada. These efforts include serving as a US2020 Founding Leadership Partner, a national STEM movement that aims to engage one million STEM professionals in mentorship opportunities by the year 2020. Most recently, TCS' Surya Kant, President of North America, U.K. and Europe, served as a judge for US2020's City Competition. A reception was held at The White House with President Obama to honor the winners. Additionally, TCS facilitated a "Computer Science Education: Progress, State-by-State, City-by-City" roundtable event with STEMconnector® in May 2014, and is the Founding Partner of Million Women Mentors.

About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model™, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India's largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has more than 300,000 of the world's best-trained consultants in 46 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $13.4 billion for year ended March 31, 2014 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com.