IBM expands STEM for Girls programme in Nagaland; to benefit 12,000 students in 250 schools

Bengaluru

IBM on Thursday entered into a collaboration with the Department of School Education Nagaland to introduce the IBM STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programme for girls in over 250 secondary and higher secondary schools across 15 districts in the State.

The programme would help enable over 12,000 girls studying between 8th and 10th grade with access to digital fluency, coding skills training, 21st-century skills, including life and career skills, IBM said in a statement.

The collaboration is part of a three-year programme between IBM and Nagaland State Government, with the QUEST Alliance and YouthNet as an implementation partner, to increase the participation of girl children and women in STEM careers. The programme will also aim to empower nearly 1,400 teachers in the participating schools to engage and train students on computational thinking, STEM, and agency development for girls. Educators will use IBM SkillsBuild (skillsbuild.org), a programme that includes online coursework and tools to engage with students, as per IBM.

Kevileno Angami, Special Secretary, Government of Nagaland, “ The IBM STEM for Girls programme will help young learners become problem solvers. We hope that in the days to come, our children become job creators, and we nurture citizens who will be able to solve problems and think out of the box.’‘

Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India said, “With the expansion of our STEM for Girls program in Nagaland, we have increased our footprint to 12 states across India. This is a part of IBM’s ground-breaking commitment to provide 30 million people of all ages worldwide with new skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow by 2030.’‘