SPARCS events bolstering I.T./computer technology interest among Minnesota’s high school women

SPARCS events bolstering I.T./computer technology interest among Minnesota’s high school women

Advance IT Minnesota partners with numerous organizations and businesses to generate technology “SPARCS” for girls in high school. SPARCS – Sustaining Passion, Ambition and Resolve for Career Success – has supported hundreds of girls with budding interests in technology by helping them discover and nurture their ‘inner geek’.

Some SPARCS partnership events include:

  • SPARCS@Unisys (Eagan)

  • SPARCS@Macalester College week-long day camp (St. Paul)

  • SPARCS@Microsoft (Edina)

  • SPARCS@SalesForce (Bloomington)

  • SPARCS@Brocade (Plymouth)

  • SPARCS@General Mills (Golden Valley)

  • Referrals to numerous Discovering IT provider activities (throughout the Twin Cities)

SPARCS events expose high school young women to technology skill development, women IT professionals, learning professional skills, networking and community building. All activities involve ‘mentormash’ – the opportunity to engage with professional women to learn more about the ‘day in the life’ of various IT workers. SPARCS exposes students to a diverse array of technology tools, applications and opportunities … App Inventor, analytics, database, system administration, security, career awareness, innovation labs, robotics, gamification, Microsoft’s HaloLens, Google Glass, and assorted leading-edge technologies … plus the people who make them go!

All activities involve ‘mentormash’ – the opportunity to engage with professional women to learn more about the ‘day in the life’ of various IT workers.

“The support for SPARCS is unbelievable! It demonstrates to girls with budding technology interests that Minnesota really wants them to succeed, ideally attend college in this rich education state and work for a local company intent upon contributing to the vitality of a strong state economy,” said Russell Fraenkel, director of IT career pathways and partnerships at Advance IT Minnesota.

While women today comprise more than half of the U.S. professional workforce, they play only a small role in inventing the technology of tomorrow. Of the 1.2 million expected openings for computer specialists by 2022, the current number of American graduates can only fill 39 percent, according to the U.S Department of Labor, Bureau Statistics, 2014. Advance IT Minnesota, with the committed help of modest to massive business partners, works to bridge the gender and opportunity gap, by recognizing and encouraging young women in high school interested in computing and technology to make their mark, and make IT big.

Several sponsors have contributed generously to support SPARCS programs and the complementary Minnesota Aspirations in Computing Awards. This year’s partners include Logic PD, a Champion Partner, Maverick Software Consulting, Veritas, Land O’Lakes, Inc., SPS Commerce, and STEM Fuse – all Pillar Partners. Additional major partners include: TC Chapter – MN Women in Computing, Thomson Reuters, Upper Midwest Security Alliance, Institute for Professional Development (Metropolitan State University), ViaWest, Pearson, Unisys, General Mills, Target, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, ESP IT, Securian, The Nerdery, HelpSystems, PeopleNet, MN Computers for Schools, Information Systems Security Association, Microsoft, Women Leading in Technology – MHTA, Girls in Tech – Twin Cities, Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), TECH{dot}MN and Genesys Works – Twin Cities.

Learn more about SPARCS and the Minnesota Aspirations for Women in Computing Awards.

About the photo: High school SPARCS participants gather with women information technology (IT) professionals and educators at Unisys in Eagan, MN, for a Saturday, day-long ‘girls in tech love fest’. Events range from a few hours, to a full-day, to an entire week.

Learn More about SPARCS

Learn More about the Minnesota Aspirations for Women in Computing Awards