Google strives to increase educational opportunities in computer science
and is committed to increasing the representation of underrepresented
students in the broader field of technology. In order to do so, Google’s Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI)
was created to help high potential students prepare for college, build
confidence, and be inspired to pursue a career in tech. CSSI is a
Google-hosted summer program that invites 90 rising college first-years
to participate in a 3-week interactive curriculum and learn a practical
introduction to computer science (HTML, CSS, Javascript, App Engine and
more). Students partner in small teams to develop web applications, and
ultimately present and demo their projects to Googlers who are
enthusiastic to see their web apps come to life. Students designed and
developed a wide variety of applications, from a strategic puzzle game
called Nonograms to TaxiCop, an app which tracks and estimates taxi
fares in Ghana.
The curriculum is built and maintained by Google engineers, with the
intention of giving these students a head start in computer science
concepts before heading off to college. With their new knowledge and
skills, students are more confident, prepared for their first year of
college, and inclined to graduate with a computer science degree. Randy
(17), a past participant from Cambridge said; “Career-wise [CSSI] was
incredibly helpful. Even though it’s not technically an internship, it
really helps set me up for future opportunities. I've met a lot of
really cool people here that I was able to connect with. I learned a
lot, and because of this program I want to continue pursuing CS in
college. It has impacted me a lot.“
After completing CSSI, many of our participants have expressed an increase in readiness and confidence; Monica (17), a student from our Cambridge class said “I did not have much CS experience except one CS class from high school. Now I feel prepared for my CS classes in college. I feel like I can do projects on my own, which is huge. The program very much strengthened my technical skill set.”
If you’re interested in learning more about CSSI, please visit google.com/students/cssi for more details and stay tuned for more information about the program in January 2015. In the meantime, please fill out this interest form if you'd like to be notified when our application opens.
Cross-posted from the Google for Education blog
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