TCS' goIT Student Technology Program Encourages Students to pursue STEM fields in Columbus, Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a leading IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, today announced the completion of its annual goIT summer camp in Columbus, Ohio. The camp, which is now in its second year in Columbus, is hosted at The Ohio Union at The Ohio State University and aims to inspire local students to pursue a career and education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields.

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The goIT program is a STEM education initiative that TCS offers pro-bono to high school students, and comprises of in-school IT career and awareness workshops, and hands-on technology education. Led by TCS employee volunteers, it offers students the opportunity to engage with advanced technology in a fun, relaxed environment. The culmination of the program is a robotics competition, held on July 9^th, in which student teams competed under the guidance of TCS mentors to overcome a series of challenges and obstacles using programming skills and technologies. This year, challenges included a robotic chariot race and castle storming.

"We are pleased to host our second goIT summer camp in the Columbus, Ohio area," said Surya Kant, President of North America, UK and Europe at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). "As an IT services company, we believe that it is our mission to help address the growing skills gap in the technology sector. By exposing students to the power of technology from a young age, we can inspire them to pursue STEM related fields in their education and, ultimately, their careers."

By 2018, research shows that STEM occupations are projected to grow by 17%, with 71% of STEM jobs focused on computing including cloud, big data, app development and cyber security. This contrasts sharply with the mere 17% of high school graduates who are proficient and interested in pursuing STEM careers. TCS' goIT Student Technology Program is a multi-tiered outreach program engaging students, parents, universities, and local government with the goal of increasing student excitement and participation in technology related careers. Since its launch in 2009, the program has evolved from a two-school camp to a national, year-long program that has influenced over 7,000 students across 35 school districts. In addition to the previous goIT markets of Cincinnati, Columbus, OH and Midland, MI; this year, TCS is expanding the camp to reach students in Bentonville, AR; Edison, NJ; Minneapolis, MN; San Antonio, TX; Santa Clara, CA; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX and Toronto, Canada. With these additions, goIT will be a nationwide program covering 11 US locations as well as the greater Toronto region in Canada.

"We are honoured to host the second annual goIT summer camp at our facilities," said David Tomasko, Dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State University. "At the university level, we believe it is critically important for students to receive early access and awareness of STEM related topics. By encouraging these students to use technology in a creative, innovative way, TCS is helping to foster the next generation of entrepreneurs today."

"Recent jobs reports and skills gap studies have shown the vital need for our educational facilities and community partners to come together to promote STEM education at the secondary and postsecondary levels," said Tina Thomas-Manning, Ohio Associate Superintendent. "We appreciate the work that TCS is doing as a valuable member of this community and state economy in advancing STEM awareness amongst our students." 

The goIT program is just one of several ambitious initiatives that TCS is actively involved in to improve the accessibility and quality of STEM education and Technology inclusion across the United States. For example, this month at CGI America, a nationwide gathering hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative in Chicago, Illinois, it was announced that TCS has joined US2020 as a Founding Leadership Partner.  US2020 is a national STEM Education initiative that aims to engage one million science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals in mentorship opportunities by the year 2020. TCS will be the lead partner in developing US2020's web-based matching technology that will help place STEM volunteers into high impact mentoring opportunities with top non-profits working across different grades, settings, and delivery models.

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, BPO,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 over 276,000 of the world's best-trained consultants in 44 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $11.6 billion for year ended March 31, 2013 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com.

SOURCE Tata Consultancy Services