Perspective. “Time travelers”, with no limits on the horizon
gustavo.veloza
Mayo 21, 2023 – 7:00 AM
THE United Way FOUNDATION, which serves the needs of communities and its network of educational institutions, and Kyndryl, the world’s largest provider of IT infrastructure services, launched the new ‘Stem Travelers’ volunteer initiative in Bogotá, with the objective of to introduce concepts of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to more than 3,000 students and teachers in the Latin American region. In other words, it is about the ‘Time Travelers’.
The term STEM, for its acronym in English, brings together learning and development in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These are skills that are required to develop and succeed in any professional career. This implies the development of both technical and soft skills.
Twenty-five Kyndryl collaborators participated in the volunteer experience in Bogotá, who will share their STEM knowledge at the service of the education of 7th grade students of the Juan de Dios Cock Educational Institution.
The learning
The project seeks to promote learning processes of exploration and experimentation from an innovation approach, encouraging students’ curiosity, construction and understanding of the world around them, in addition to the development of STEM skills.
‘Time Travelers’ is an experience where students and volunteers will have the mission of building a travel mechanism. For this they will travel through different times, in which they will obtain a reward that will allow them to build the mechanism that will bring them to their lives. This joint work will be developed with the purpose of inspiring the curiosity of students in STEM and helping them develop the necessary skills to enter the technological market and promote the economic and sustainable development of Colombia in the future.
The experiences
“I found it very fun, it brought me closer to technology through experimentation and creation. In the volunteer experience ‘Stem Travelers’ from United Way Colombia and Kyndryl I managed to develop electrical circuits and create prototypes of robots. This activity was very valuable, it teaches us how to carry out projects, it shows us a different point of view regarding science and technology, which is not just computers, cell phones and tablets”, affirmed the beneficiary student Isabela Gómez Bojacá.
Catherine Rodríguez, Kyndryl Colombia human resources leader, says that “we have been able to meet with more than 100 children, between the ages of 12 and 14, in grade 7 of the Silverio Espinoza Educational Institution in Bogotá, to support them in the development of their taste for Stem careers, that they are really passionate about science and technology. We came with different challenges together with United Way Colombia, which we advance with the team of Kyndryl volunteers, so that they can know what technology really is, how they can approach different situations over time and have more and more approach to professional careers.
Through this program, “young people get to know robotics, as well as what artificial intelligence and clouds mean, and this fills us with passion to continue working on these activities for the benefit of building a better country.”
Commitments
The best part of the volunteer experience was the commitment, affection, attention, interest, desire to learn, to know and to participate, and one day to really be part of a technology company and continue serving the country through innovation and change.
“I thought it was a very interesting and extraordinary activity, because they are instilling in us knowledge that we did not have before when we were younger, such as robotics and others, to better develop ourselves in teamwork,” said the beneficiary student Julián Emilio Ovalle.
The experience seeks to awaken interest in science in a more fun way. The idea is to contribute a grain of sand in education. “They are very gratifying spaces, they put us in contact with the students, we co-create together and the truth is that we are children again, to rediscover”, added Jason Mauricio Gutiérrez, IBM specialist in internal infrastructure for Kyndryl Colombia.
The volunteering experience helps children to define their vocation in the future, currently there are very few actions on this front, the little ones discover their vocation in life through the ‘Stem Travelers’ experience.
“Volunteers become an aspirational figure, which drives them to be professionals in science, technology, mathematics and engineering tomorrow,” said Carlos Saucedo Maciel, social responsibility leader for Kyndryl.
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The challenge for teachers
Currently in Colombia, teachers have the great challenge of promoting learning processes from an innovative approach, which transcends traditional practices that generate little participation and demotivation in students, even in their first years of schooling. Precisely, Stem learning promotes imagination, curiosity, exploration, construction and understanding of the world around them in children.
At United Way Colombia, the commitment to the transformation of education is seen and developed from different focuses, such as the strengthening of socio-emotional skills, the construction of life projects and, of course, the development of 21st century skills, as mentioned by Cristina Gutiérrez de Piñeres, Executive Director of United Way Colombia.
“Stem skills are one of the pillars of our commitments, we work with the different educational trajectories (early childhood, basic primary, secondary and secondary) and in different solutions we link these themes, because we understand that part of the challenge in the country’s education is in the qualification related to these skills, that is why this articulation between Kyndryl and United Way will not only provide new experiences for students, but will also come to strengthen the processes that we have already advanced in different regions of Colombia”.
experts
Through the program, more than 1,000 Kyndryl technical experts from Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru will work to benefit students and faculty at United Way partner educational institutions.
According to the World Bank, Latin America has only 30% of students meeting the minimum standards to be able to develop their professional life in careers related to Stem, which means that the region does not have the preparation or experience to take key innovation actions. . This program seeks to inspire today’s students to take advantage of all the possibilities offered by the digital economy so that they can become the next generation of technology professionals in Latin America.
Shaping the future
“Kyndryl is committed to driving human progress and shaping a just and sustainable future through our corporate social responsibility practices,” Saucedo says. “By partnering with the United Way, at Kyndryl we seek to spark the curiosity of Latin American students, while sharing our own technical knowledge to offer diverse, fun and interactive learning experiences,” he says.
He adds that “through this corporate volunteer program, our students are given valuable exposure to relevant 21st century skills and will strengthen their foundations to broaden their professional aspirations.”