TechSpark BootCamp

A summer tech boot camp that teaches high school teens from marginalized backgrounds how to code, trains them through part time work on technical tasks with a non-profit and provides a paid summer enrichment for them after completion of training.

TechSpark BootCamp is an 8-week summer program geared towards high school youth from marginalized backgrounds in the field of tech. We provide them with a fast paced web programming training during which they also tour local tech companies, and have weekly speaker series from professionals in the tech industry also from marginalized backgrounds. There will also be office hours on the weekends hosted by tech professionals that students will either be recommended by us to attend if need be, or voluntarily sign up for.

After the completion of this summer bootcamp, they then train with a local non-profit for a period of 3-6 months during which they work on technical tasks such as building and revamping websites and webapps. Once they complete this training, they then participate in a paid summer internship the following summer with one of a number of local tech companies that we have partnered with, and a select few will be extended an offer to return to our bootcamp as paid TA's for the next cohort.

Our tuition for the program will be $2000 which is a fraction of the cost of other summer tech bootcamps and will include public transportation passes, and laptops for a select few chosen through an application process. The instructors of our program will be college students selected for their academic prowess, interest in empowering youth, and proven CS knowledge through projects and internships. 

Most youth from disadvantaged backgrounds do not consider computer science as a field where they should be because of the underrepresentation of people like them in this field, and TechSpark BootCamp aims to show these kids that a career is plausible in these fields by not only introducing them to the field and showing them that they are capable of doing these things, but by also introducing them to people like them who are successful in this field.

My highschool didn't offer any classes in CS, and I looked high and low for any programs that my family could afford that would allow me to explore this field to no avail. I eventually learned some basics from free online videos, but I know for a fact that my experience in my first two CS classes at college would have been less frustrating if I'd had earlier exposure. I stayed with it, but I have friends just like me who couldn't handle it and dropped the class which was an issue that other people with earlier exposure didn't face.

The purpose of our bootcamp is to introduce youth from underserved communities to the possibility of a career in CS and make them more likely to consider and survive these classes in college. It will be deployed to them in the form of a summer day camp which will then transition into a part -time training, and finally a paid summer internship.

Use yearly surveys to track the current college goals and achievements of our alumni - 80% of the students who go through our program end up successfully completing a major in Computer Science

Our solution is unique because not only do we train the participants of our program, but we also provide them with the opportunity to participate in enrichment opportunities through the training with non-profits and summer internships that give them a chance to apply their newfound knowledge.

Our solution is human-centered because we have one focus throughout the duration of the program; the youth. They are our number one focus, and everything we do is centered around turning them into programming enthusiasts that love and enjoy creating things by leveraging the ability to speak 'computer'.

Our solution will be deployed as a day camp in Boston, and will expand to other major cities such as NYC, Chicago, and Detroit over the next few years. Our tuition is $2000 which according to our customer interviews is affordable for most, and for those who cannot afford it, we plan to integrate scholarships into our program once we are done with our pilot phase.

We plan to bootstrap ourselves through our pilot phase by relying solely on the tuition of our students and making sure to spend minimally. Past this phase, we will develop corporate sponsorships and partnerships with organizations that share our mission in order to financially sustain ourselves while making sure to remain affordable to our students.

Factors limiting the ability of our solution ton succeed are developing the right corporate partnerships for sponsorships so that we can scale and expand to other locations.

https://twitter.com/TechSprk

We are applying to solve because as an early stage company, there are still questions we do not have the answer to, and we are hoping that solve can help us as we try to answer these questions. The mentor and expert network will also be beneficial to us as we attempt to launch a successful pilot and grow our program.

4.0 Schools(Essentials Fellowship)

Pwnie Express (Paid internships to some of our graduates and present at one of our weekly speaker series). 

iRobot and Bloomberg(Some of their staff to host our weekend office hours)

BioBuilder, and Community Giving Tree(training with non-profit)

MakeSchool, Code Wizards HQ, Holberton School, along with a host of numerous tech boot camps.