The WCIT Charity is delighted to be supporting four fantastic charities in its latest round of grant funding.
The Oaks Specialist College has been given £5,211 to install smart tech in its on-site flat, so that young adults with learning difficulties in Kent and East Sussex can acquire the necessary life skills and confidence in using the everyday tech that many people have as standard in their homes. This includes items such as a smartphone, Ring doorbell and an Alexa Bose speaker – tech that can be bought by the residents when they leave college and make their own way in the world.
A research bursary of £5,000 to Archives of IT will support postgraduate or postdoctoral research into the social Influences and impact of the UK’s IT and communications industry. The work aims to highlight the opportunities the industry presents across the UK, regardless of people’s backgrounds.
Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust will be able to deliver three exciting new after-school clubs at its SoapBox Centre for socially excluded young people in Islington, thanks to a grant of £9,987. This will pay for coding, robotics and virtual reality sessions, with the aim of highlighting opportunities in the digital and STEM sphere that the young people are usually denied access to. It will also allow them to build their digital/STEM competences alongside specialist skills, and they will receive a nationally-recognised accreditation that celebrates their progress and achievements.
The WCIT Charity is also pleased to be supporting EDT with a grant of £4,950 to develop an IT-focused module for its ‘Routes into STEM’ virtual course for young people aged 13-15 across the UK. The aim of the course is for students to explore STEM apprenticeship, university and career routes.
Chair of the Charity Board, Stefan Fafinski, commented: “Our grant-making committee always has a very difficult task, as we receive so many deserving requests. This latest round of grants clearly reflects our desire to support key areas of education, inclusion and public understanding of IT both locally and nationally, and we look forward to sharing more stories as the successful projects progress.”
