TechSpark Immokalee is not just a program but a promise aimed at helping equip Immokalee students with essential digital skills.
The Immokalee Foundation-based program is funded by a generous Microsoft grant and in collaboration with The Collier Industrial Development Authority and Florida Gulf Coast University.
Immokalee Foundation President and CEO Noemi Perez said that TechSpark Immokalee is the first of its kind in Florida, setting a new standard for educational partnerships.
“This is what the Immokalee Foundation is about, providing opportunity," Perez said. Bringing in different options for the students to take on those different opportunities that come their way.”
TechSpark isn't merely a project; it's a two-year pilot program with a mission — to bridge the gap between youth education and the digital skills imperative for success in today's workforce.
Perez said the program's vision aims to foster inclusive economic opportunities, ignite job creation, and inspire innovation in the vibrant community of Southwest Florida.
“The future workforce will be looking for people who have these technical skills and abilities in order to help the economy move forward,” Perez said.
About 160 Immokalee Foundation middle school students will engage in a four-week program focused on vital digital skills at Immokalee Middle School and Immokalee Community School.
The curriculum covers data processing, virtual reality, robotics, and cutting-edge technologies like ChatGPT, with a pilot project targeting the construction and engineering industry.
In a swiftly changing job market, TechSpark Immokalee identified the need for construction technology in the Southwest Florida job market, making this the focus of the program’s inaugural cohort.
“By building on what FGCU has already seen as the trends that move forward and the needs and where technology is going to be within engineering and construction, we wanted to focus on this area first,” Perez said.
Dr. Daniel Linares, an Assistant Professor of Construction Management and Civil Engineering at FGCU, will serve as the Microsoft TechSpark Fellow and lead instructor, creating the curriculum for the program.
He mentions that construction might not seem like the tech job of the future, yet the industry is facing labor and credential shortages.
“Things are changing, actually to be more technological, because productivity actually is also important to be increasing in that industry in particular," Linares said.
Linares emphasizes that TechSpark also highlights the need for youth digital skills training in Immokalee.
“In our case, it is actually trying to bring awareness of the need of developing digital skills for youth in these underrepresented communities, which is in Immokalee,” Linares said.
Mike Egan, Senior Director for Microsoft TechSpark initiative, said the idea of smart construction is an interesting way of adapting to new worlds of technology, and credits Linares on his curriculum.
“You've got to have STEM as a foundation for this new smart construction," Egan said. "So, I just love how he's weaving those in. I think the students are captivated because he knows they grow up in this world of technology. For them to now capture it, and see it applied to something like construction, boy, it just gives them a new opportunity, new hope.”
Egan explains that TechSpark was created by Microsoft close to eight years ago as a way to uplift communities that may lack certain resources and then help them to reach new heights and potential.
“Talent is everywhere, but the opportunity is not," Egan said. "By providing some opportunity, leveling that opportunity playing field, you know, that talent is just going to shine so much more.”
TechSpark will give students the opportunity to not only learn new digital skills in a classroom setting, they will see them applied in real life scenarios through field trips and workshops with industry professionals.
"We want to make it engaging, engaging, to be able to for them to get excited about being part of this and also about thinking about how this won't be for the future," Linares said.
"So in what we're doing is basically we have we were in the curriculum development, we are identifying what it's going to be some like the main four categories of future jobs, in terms of how the technological literacy, and then we are going to show them how what are the words also skills, how they look like in the future."
Perez says the hope is that The Immokalee Foundation will be able to teach other organizations how to lead a collaborative project like this one in communities similar to Immokalee.
“It's not just about our students, it's about the community as a whole and how we can help everyone out, and bring these opportunities to them as well,” Perez said.
Class is in session for TechSpark Immokalee on January 23, 2024. Learn more about the program HERE.
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