Companies of all shapes, sizes and specializations are doing their part to emphasize computer science education this Computer Science Education Week.

Accenture, a leading global professional services company, has for example partnered with Computer Science Education Week founder Code.org to commit more than 10,000 hours of code. More than 2,000 of those hours, said Accenture in a prepared statement, will be pledged by "Accenture employees to lead local events or volunteer at schools in their communities by working with teachers and Code.org to help students learn the basics of coding through online tutorials that inspire students to continue learning."

Overall, Accenture’s efforts will reach over 200 cities in 55 countries.

"In today’s digital world, exposing each and every student – particularly girls and minorities -- to coding is just as critical as teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. I am proud of the personal commitments Accenture employees are making to help introduce students to computer programming and the vast opportunities available to them in the computer science field," said Paul Daugherty, Accenture’s chief technology & innovation officer and 'chief coder' in a statement.

An example of Accenture’s efforts to inspire students in computer science can be seen in the "coding pep rally" held by Accenture technologist Chau Dang and Code.org’s CEO Hadi Partovi where students from Information Technology High School in Long Island City, Queens learned from the best about how to succeed in an increasingly digital world.

Aside from inspiring students to learn coding skills, Dang sought to inspire student interest in other emerging 21st-century technologies, like virtual reality, as demonstrated in the image below. 

"Every student in every school should have access to computer science in order to become literate citizens of today’s digital world and explore the possibilities of computer science careers," said Partovi in a statement.

"By engaging and mobilizing its global workforce to participate in Code.org events and in classrooms around the world, Accenture shares our vision and provides invaluable support in arming students with the skills they need to succeed in the future."

To find out how you can participate in the remainder of Computer Science Education Week, see here.

Nicole Gorman, Senior Education World Contributor

12/7/2016

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