Wie CIOs junge Menschen neugierig machen

By helping to develop technology-related curricula with practical applications, CIOs can help bridge the significant divide between the middle schools and high schools, and the colleges and universities. Too many in higher education look down on what the middle and high schools are teaching. But if CIOs were to step in as local employers and industry leaders - by setting their stamp of approval on the curriculum as one that will prepare kids to be hired out of college - that could make a huge difference.

What first made me excited to work with Genesys Works in Houston was its summer boot camp, an eight-week training program for inner-city students. While they learn the technical skills, they also learn about workplace culture and how to be a member of a corporate team, which are skills that aren’t easy to learn in a classroom and will serve them for life. It’s an eye-opening experience for most of them.

Because they have that preparation, when I bring a student in as an intern, they immediately become part of the team. They’re on project teams and interacting with users, and we try to get rid of that "intern" label as soon as possible because they are full contributors for the time they are here.

Genesys Works is now expanding into other cities, starting with Minneapolis-St. Paul, and their model is one anyone around the country can use to do more than just teach kids about technology opportunities.