JA AMERICAS AND IBM LAUNCH START UP CHALLENGE 2020 TO TRAIN MORE THAN 5,000 STUDENTS IN LATIN AMERICA
- The educational program will train students from 58 educational institutions in: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay;
- The initiative will also train 200 educators to prepare them for the classrooms of the future
Junior Achievement Americas and IBM announced a new collaboration that will train 5,000 students from 10 Latin American countries in disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cybersecurity and Cloud, as well as content on Design Thinking, Canvas, Agile Methodologies, Storytelling and IBM Cloud, through the Open P-TECH platform - IBM's free digital education platform focused on workplace learning and digital skills.
According to UNESCO1, more than 146 million students in Latin America continue to be affected by the interruption of face-to-face classes, as a result of COVID-19, something that further increases the gap in the development of skills focused on current and future needs of the labor market.
"This collaboration between Junior Achievement and IBM seeks to empower teachers and train young students in disruptive technologies that have become an increasingly important part of our daily lives," says Ana Paula Assis, General Manager of IBM Latin America. "We want young people to start venturing into the world of technology from younger ages and thus help them develop the skills they will need to become part of the workforce of the future."
The program will have two phases. In the first phase, IBM will work with Junior Achievement to provide consulting expertise and solutions designed to support and empower teachers, professors, and educators from all 58 schools, on Design Thinking, Agile, Cloud, Storytelling, and Canvas; allowing around 200 teachers to continue developing their technology skills, to be even more prepared for the classroom of the future.
In the second phase, the Start-up Challenge 2020 will provide training to the more than 5,000 students who are part of Junior Achievement in the region, where IBM and Junior Achievement volunteers will work together with previously trained teachers to provide the students with content and knowledge that are highly demanded in the digital economy, such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cybersecurity and Cloud, through digital workshops and the Open P-TECH platform.
“In an unprecedented context such as the one that education is going through in our region due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 80% of schools closed, initiatives such as Start Up Challenge do nothing more than reaffirm the importance of educating our young people in disruptive technologies and life skills, in order to develop in a world that has accelerated all its processes of change. We are proud that IBM renews its commitment to JA Americas and thousands of young people who will acquire key tools for the new job market, but even more so because this type of collaboration allows us to reach young people in the places where they are, in their own houses and communities, helping them not to go looking for knowledge elsewhere," said Leo Martellotto, President of Junior Achievement Americas.
