Award to support student open-source education and participation in SC technology conference
CHARLESTON, S.C. – South Carolina college and high school students will get an insider’s look at open-source technology issues in 2013 thanks to a Google Community Grant. IT-oLogy received $10,000 this quarter from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation to fund an educational opportunity for local students.
Students from the College of Charleston and other South Carolina universities and high schools will use grant funds to gain free entry to the Palmetto Open Source Software Conference (POSSCON) in March 2013.
“This grant will enable unprecedented engagement of computer science students in an open-source community, including students from the College of Charleston,” said Dr. Chris Starr, chair of the computer science department at College of Charleston. “Google is stepping up to help us educate computer scientists, 84 percent of whom remain in South Carolina to grow the region’s economy by creating companies and new jobs.”
In 2012, more than 20 colleges and universities attended the Columbia, S.C., event, among hundreds of participants from dozens of other states. Funding from Google will allow approximately 100 students to learn first-hand from industry leaders. POSSCON has made student accessibility a primary focus since its start.
IT-oLogy is a nonprofit organization that is growing the IT talent pipeline to ensure a more educated, skilled workforce. Providing students access to open-source education is an important objective for IT-oLogy to better prepare the future IT workforce.
“IT-oLogy, made up of partners like Google, College of Charleston and Palmetto Computer Labs, continues to prepare the workforce of the 21st Century, and the results are coming in,” said Lonnie Emard, executive director of IT-oLogy. “Key jobs are being filled, more start-up companies are forming and new companies are coming to South Carolina.”
“Google is once again demonstrating their dedication to technology education and students in South Carolina,” said Todd Lewis, chair of POSSCON. “They’ve been a partner for many years, and we are extremely grateful for the continued support.”
Google Community Grants come from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation, which offers donor-advised funds, as well as professional philanthropic advice. It supports South Carolina organizations and initiatives that focus on four issues:
- Technology literacy and innovation
- Renewable energy innovation
- Access to high-speed Internet
- New economy entrepreneurship
“We want to help students reach their full potential by enabling thought-provoking experiences and valuable learning opportunities like this conference,” said Eric Wages, operations manager at the Berkeley County data center. “Training the next generation of technology workers benefits companies like Google and the entire South Carolina community.”
For more information about the Google Community Grants Program, go togoogle.com/datacenter/berkeleycounty and visit the “Community Outreach” page.