Nokia has announced a scholarship program to increase opportunities for underrepresented groups in the technology industry. Nokia will provide over 300 scholarships in collaboration with the online learning and talent transformation platform Udacity and Blacks In Technology (BIT) Foundation, with an emphasis on enabling students and career changers from underrepresented groups.
According to the BIT Foundation, people of color are significantly underrepresented in the tech industry, accounting for only 3% of employees in the top 75 Silicon Valley tech businesses compared to 24% of the entire US workforce. The corporation intends to bridge this gap and promote more inclusiveness in the tech industry.
The fully financed scholarships cover several fundamental technology disciplines, from cloud computing and programming to artificial intelligence and data science, and are offered at several levels from beginner to advanced. Candidates who pass an initial exam will be able to choose from courses in AI Programming with Python, Java Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms, Intermediate Python, and Cloud DevOps Engineering.
Udacity’s Nanodegree® programs are presented entirely online and may be attended in conjunction with other studies or a full-time job, making these courses available to everyone, regardless of their position or profession. Scholarships are available to all members of the black community living anywhere around the globe. Furthermore, the BIT Foundation will give scholarship winners full access to mentorship, tutoring and post-completion career assistance services. In addition, Nokia will collaborate with its African-American employee resource organization ABLE (Advancing Black Leadership and Excellence) to promote this initiative.
Karoliina Loikkanen, Global Head of Sustainability at Nokia, commented: “We are committed to creating technology that helps the world act together, but to do so, the technology industry must reflect the world around us. This initiative further expands our activities to drive greater inclusion and diversity through concrete actions that provide opportunities to underrepresented communities and individuals, irrespective of background or ethnicity. Education forms a key part of this. Diverse businesses are shown to perform better, and we intend to encourage students who successfully complete one of the programs to apply for positions within Nokia.”
