OECM is honoured to announce a $30,000 funding commitment to support the Girls Who Game Program in Ontario. Funding will go towards the outright purchase of brand new Dell products and to deliver a contest prize for the top Ontario-based winner.
Girls Who Game (GWG) is a joint Dell Technologies and Microsoft initiative that focuses on empowering female students in grades 4-6 in learner-driven experiences that broaden their knowledge, skills and dispositions within Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM)-related fields. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, less than 50% of high school girls know a woman in a STEM career. The North American program aims to support diversity and equity and strengthen the girl-centric ecosystem to increase interest and confidence in STEM-related fields.
As part of the program, GWG clubs in participating Ontario District School Boards (DSBs) have been provided with loaner equipment – Dell hardware, such as laptops– to showcase and support gaming and studies in STEM among girls. Equipment is available to educational institutions for the duration of the program and is expected to be returned to Dell upon completion. A GWG contest, based on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, is also underway. Participants are challenged to use coding and computational thinking to solve problems and build solutions in a shared Minecraft world. A prize will be awarded to the highest scoring winner in Ontario.
The GWG program and contest are deeply aligned with OECM’s core values of collaboration and innovation. This year, OECM has committed to support the program by funding the outright purchase of brand new Dell products for the five (5) participating Ontario DSBs allowing the GWG teams to extend the program after the official close of the cohort to support continued development and learning in the years ahead. OECM will also provide funding for Girls Who Game: School of the Future Challenge with a contest prize covering the cost of an Interactive Display for the highest scoring winner in Ontario.
OECM recognizes the value in programs such as GWG that present excellent opportunities for DSBs to collaborate and learn from each other. As such, OECM would like to encourage all our School Board customers to consider participating in future iterations of this initiative.
Customers requiring additional information about the 2019 Girls Who Game program, or seeking details on how to get involved in the 2020 program can contact Canadian Education Strategist, Katina Papulkas at katina_papulkas@dell.com.
For more information about OECM’s End-User Computing Devices and Services agreement with Preferred Partner, Dell EMC, or to learn more about OECM’s involvement in the Girls Who Game initiative and our commitment to support this year’s program, please don’t hesitate to contact our dedicated Customer Support team at OECM Customer Support or 1-844-OECM-900 (1-844-632-6900).
