Virginia Tech: $1 Million Grant Will Help Expose Underserved Youth to Digital Equipment

In a recent press release, Fujitsu announced that they have awarded a grant for $1 million to Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech already provides several outreach opportunities to underserved youth. The $1 Million grant will help expose underserved youth to digital equipment. Students attending Virginia Tech's outreach programs will have more hands-on exposure to many different kinds of digital equipment. Virginia Tech can also expand their summer academic enrichment and pre-freshman programs. By tapping into their wireless Internet network, any educational space will become a computer lab.

The goal? To help eliminate the "digital divide," that affects many inner city and at-risk youth. Virginia Tech will be able to give these youth first hand experience using digital and computer equipment.

This grant will give Virginia Tech a total of 308 new Tablet PCs plus new digital cameras, and other equipment such as projectors, printers and scanners. Targeting at-risk and inner city youth, Virginia Tech's Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity will use this equipment in their outreach efforts.

When talking about the grant, Glenda Scales, associate dean of distance learning and computing at Virginia Tech said it will help, "increase in technology literacy, allow hands-on and interactive theme based activities, and acquire basic skills about computers...increase...technology literacy, allow hands-on and interactive theme based activities, and acquire basic skills about computers."

Virginia Tech will also be able to provide more outdoor experiences to inner city and at-risk youth, along with the academic programs they provide. They have been providing camps for inner city and at-risk youth since 1992.

Currently, the Engineering College at Virginia Tech provides several summer camp opportunities for pre-college students. The camps include:
- C-Tech 2, which is a two-week summer camp targeted towards girls in high school
- Imagination, which is a one-week science and math camp, targeted towards seventh and eighth graders in the New River and Roanoke areas