Cognizant Underwrites Six Maker Corps Sites Around the United States to Spur Interest in STEM Disciplines

TEANECK, N.J., May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) today announced that it is sponsoring six Maker Corp Host Sites as part of its ongoing efforts to inspire more student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers in the U.S.

The Maker Corps program is run by the Maker Education Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to the idea that every child is a maker. The program addresses the need for personalized support and expertise in introducing maker-oriented experiences in existing educational programs across the U.S.

Cognizant will provide mentoring and program support to the following sites, selected by the Maker Education Initiative, to promote STEM disciplines among children by engaging them and their families in creative projects and helping them develop problem-solving skills:

• New York Hall of Science, New York, NY
• Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
• Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
• Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA
• Chicago Children's Museum, Chicago, IL
• Mt. Elliott Makerspace, Detroit, MI

"We have a long commitment to advance and invest in new ways to generate interest in STEM education," said Gordon Coburn, President of Cognizant. "As our country looks for new ways to excite children about science and technology, the Maker Corps program brings hand-on activities to children, igniting their passion, creativity, and critical thinking by learning and doing."

"We greatly appreciate Cognizant's support for Maker Corps," said Jane Werner, Executive Director at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. "Maker Corps provides tremendous benefit to both the museum and the Corps members we were able hire as a result of the program. Not only do they work with the museum's visitors, but they also go out into the Pittsburgh community and spread their enthusiasm and creative talent mentoring young makers across the city. This will inspire a future generation of makers and problem-solvers."

Cognizant is one of the founding partners of the Maker Education Initiative, which was launched at the 2012 Maker Faire Bay Area. Cognizant is also a lead sponsor of Maker Faire Bay Area 2013 and will be hosting the Education Area dedicated to showcasing young makers from after-school and summer programs who will teach attendees to make and create fun things using electronics, digital fabrication tools, open source hardware, and the Scratch programming language. 

Mark Greenlaw, Cognizant's Vice President of Sustainability and Educational Affairs, will speak on the Education Stage on May 19 at 1:30 p.m. PST about a new guide titled "A Blueprint: Maker Programs for Youth", developed with the New York Hall of Science, written for educators wishing to run youth maker programs. Greenlaw will also host a panel titled "Meet the Young Makers" on the Make: Live Stage on May 18 at 1:30 p.m. PST. Five young makers will discuss how they became interested in making, what they create, what they learn, and what advice they may have for the next generation of makers.

"It is our hope that through fun, hands-on education initiatives like this, we can inspire and unleash the passion of young people in STEM disciplines," said Greenlaw. "Through our education program 'Making the Future', we have already seen tremendous interest from children, parents and youth-serving organizations across the country, and will continue to help catalyze the STEM-youth movement. Since unveiling 'Making the Future' at World Maker Faire 2011, we have supported dozens of after-school and summer programs, and awarded scholarships to college students across the U.S. in STEM disciplines."

In April, Cognizant joined Cisco, SanDisk, HotChalk, AfterCollege and others, to pledge an investment of more than $2 million in private start-up funds to launch US2020, a new initiative to advance STEM education and mentoring in the U.S. to enhance the country's global competitiveness. Additionally, the founding organizations committed to substantially increasing their level of volunteerism with a long-term goal of mobilizing one million STEM mentors annually by the year 2020.

About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the world's leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 50 delivery centers worldwide and approximately 162,700 employees as of March 31, 2013, Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at www.cognizant.com or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant.  

SOURCE Cognizant