By Sue-Ann Wayow
MORE than 3,000 pupils will spend the upcoming vacation from school learning data analytics, coding, innovation and other topics that will help prepare them for futuristic jobs.
They will be taking part in CARIRI’s Innovation Nation Training Programme designed to expand on their education on the established Coding and Innovation Programme, introduced in 2021.
The programme open to persons ages ten to 18, will also continue two of the well-known modules – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) as well as Coding, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.
According to CARIRI, “STEAM skills are the essential building blocks of the 21st century.”
A new module, Climate Action has been added.
Bmobile is one of the main brand partners for the programme and issued a press release on Tuesday.
Chief Executive Officer of CARIRI Hans-Erich Schulz said the organisation was pleased to collaborate with corporate entities.
“CARIRI has successfully executed ICT educational programmes in Trinidad and Tobago since 2018 and at the end of this cycle we would have trained well over 7,500 students with great success and with the support of bmobile and other corporate entities. We will be educating participants on the emerging concepts from an industry standpoint to showcase and highlight the career paths which can be pursued.”
He added, “We are also excited about the grand finale – the PowerUp! competition which always proves to be popular with the students as they can showcase what they have learned over the course of the programme.”
The PowerUp! competition held in August, challenges pupils to apply their newfound knowledge and skills to create innovative solutions to address societal issues.
General Manager of Operations and Administration, TSTT Gerard Cooper noted that the company has long supported CARIRI in various incarnations of the programme.
Cooper said, “We are always working to align with initiatives that can deepen the development of our young people particularly in areas of technology and digitalisation. As the de facto technology partner in the development of T&T, we are proud to see so many students learn and deepen their understanding of areas in entrepreneurship, coding and STEAM industries too.” He commended the work at CARIRI and encouraged pupils to apply.
More about the programme
The release stated that this year’s programme is based around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) and Goal 13 (Climate Action).
The STEAM track presents an exciting fusion of Coding and Astrophysics, Coding and Digital Music, Data Science, Dashboards, and Mobile Apps.
For those following the Innovation and Entrepreneurship track, pupils will have the opportunity to refine their innovative thinking, while also learning the fundamentals of transforming their ideas into tangible business ventures through age-appropriate business canvas models.
The Climate Action module offers high-quality awareness training in sustainability, energy audits, carbon foot-printing, and solar PV (photovoltaic) systems; empowering pupils to adopt energy-conscious mindsets and engage in energy conservation practices.
Other sponsors for the programme are Republic Bank and Atlantic.
For more information, persons can vist the website coding.cariri.com.
