Infosys Training Event Focuses on Key Influencers: K-12 Teachers

(Image courtesy of Visit Bloomington)

As Infosys continues working toward its target of creating more than 3,000 Hoosier jobs, the India-based company’s U.S. foundation is hosting a multi-day training program for hundreds of teachers from throughout the country at the Indiana University campus in Bloomington. The Pathfinders Summer Institute is designed to help K-12 instructors "close the digital divide" in classrooms. Indiana recently passed legislation that requires computer science curriculum, a space where Infosys Foundation USA Trustee Juan Vargas says teachers can be very influential.

During an interview with Inside INdiana Business Reporter Mary-Rachel Redman, Vargas said the program will help teachers of all experience levels and backgrounds. The vast majority of participants, he said, have less than 10 years of teaching experience. "Of course, we see the younger generations (of teachers) are actually looking toward the future. They want to re-skill themselves and learn new ways to teach," Vargas said.

Indiana and other states continue to deal with a shortage of science, technology, engineering and math teachers and Vargas says teachers can take the skills and training learned at Pathfinders directly to their students, irrespective of the subject they teach. "What is really happening is that computing is the driving force of innovation across all disciplines," he said. "Computing is not just about computing, it’s about facilitating biology, geology, ecology, the arts. We’re at a school (IU) that is known for the arts, so computing is pervading — is influencing every discipline."

Infosys says the Pathfinders program is expected to draw some 800 participants from almost every state.