The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology and the Motorola Foundation Partner to Inspire Tomorrow’s Innovators

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Awarded Innovation Generation Grant

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) announced today it has received a $30,560 Innovation Generation grant from the Motorola Foundation. This award will fund a K-12 Computer Science Teacher Workshop at the 2009 Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing Conference in partnership with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and the University of Arizona. The attendees will engage in discussions with community and national leaders, generating and disseminating solutions that are grounded in teacher perspectives readily applicable. The sessions will represent teachers serving diverse populations of students.

“Innovation Generation programs make science and math both real and fun for today’s students, bringing to life what they hear from their teachers every day”

The Motorola Foundation’s Innovation Generation grants support programs that engage students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to build the confidence and skills they need for success both now and in the long-term. In 2009, the Motorola Foundation is providing $5 million in grants to support out-of-school programming, teacher training, curriculum development and other programs that spark students’ interest in STEM.

“The Anita Borg Institute is proud to be working with the Motorola Foundation to support K-12 STEM student education. The support provided by the Motorola Foundation will enable more teachers to attend this powerful program,” said Jody Mahoney, Vice President of Business Development of ABI.

ABI, in partnership with Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and University of Arizona, will leverage the 2009 Grace Hopper Celebration as a platform to implement a new program designed to increase K-12 teachers' access and visibility to like minded organizations and individuals in industry and academia from across the nation. CSTA will provide best practices, workshop content and resources that will increase the success of K-12 teachers’ efforts in reaching out to and teaching to girls and minority students. The University of Arizona will provide the meeting location and increase community outreach.

By engaging K-12 Computer Science Teachers in sharing best practices about reaching out and teaching girls and minority students, ABI is working with the Motorola Foundation to increase access to STEM education and equip students for successful futures. Introducing students to the real-world application of concepts they learn in the classroom strengthens problem-solving skills, increases knowledge retention and opens their eyes to the possibilities associated with pursuing careers in those fields,

“Innovation Generation programs make science and math both real and fun for today’s students, bringing to life what they hear from their teachers every day,” said Eileen Sweeney, director of the Motorola Foundation. “The work the Anita Borg Institute is doing to engage students in these subjects will help our next generation to succeed in a global, knowledge-based economy where critical thinking is no longer just a benefit, but a necessity.”

This year, Motorola will convene its grantees at the first annual Innovation Generation Conference. ABI will join dozens of other grantees to share best practices and cultivate the collaborative learning environment necessary to harness students’ curiosity about STEM.

To learn more about the Motorola Foundation’s Innovation Generation grants please visit www.motorola.com/giving. The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is a program of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology and is co-presented with the Association for Computing Machinery. For more information go to www.GraceHopper.org.

About the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI)

The Anita Borg Institute provides resources and programs to help industry, academia, and government recruit, retain, and develop women leaders in high-tech fields, resulting in higher levels of technological innovation. ABI programs serve high-tech women by creating a community and providing tools to help them develop their careers. ABI is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. ABI Partners include: Google, Microsoft, HP, Cisco, Intel, National Science Foundation, NetApp, SAP, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Thomson Reuters, CA, Intuit, Amazon, and Genentech. For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org.

About the Motorola Foundation

The Motorola Foundation is the charitable and philanthropic arm of Motorola. With employees located around the globe, Motorola seeks to benefit the communities where it operates. The company achieves this by making strategic grants, forging strong community partnerships, fostering innovation and engaging stakeholders. The Motorola Foundation focuses its funding on education, especially science, technology, engineering and math programming. For more information, on Motorola Corporate and Foundation giving, visit www.motorola.com/giving.