Digital services and consulting firm Infosys on Friday announced the launch of the ‘Summer of Ideas’, a global eight-week ideathon, powered by Infosys’ digital learning platform Wingspan, to help students globally and the academic community overcome the loss of learning opportunities as a result of the disruption caused by COVID-19.
This initiative will allow students access to Infosys mentorship and specially curated learning materials virtually. The program will induct nearly 2000 participants, divided into teams of five that will shape their ideas based on 10 themes related to emerging technologies.
In addition to getting their ideas consulted and refined by Infosys mentors, renowned professors, and technology thought leaders, the students will have the opportunity to showcase these ideas to industry experts.
Infosys’ digital learning platform, Wingspan, will enable students to choose courses from a content library, curated carefully by subject matter experts and educators. The platform will also allow students to network with each other, collaborate with teams across geographies and share ideas using various digital tools, ensuring a rich learning experience.
According to estimates by UNESCO, COVID-19 has affected nearly 1.2 billion students and youth globally, said Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys, adding, “The Infosys Summer of Ideas will deliver a purposeful summer learning opportunity for students impacted by this pandemic. Infosys has always believed in lifelong learning as a key strategy pillar for our employees as well as our partner universe. Today, over 200,000 of our employees use our in-house digital learning platform to reskill and up-skill themselves, and we are confident that Infosys Wingspan will empower students with a great user experience, as well as skills that will be even more relevant in the post-COVID world.”
Thomas Finholt, Dean, University of Michigan, School of Information said, “As the relationship continues to grow between UM's School of Information and Infosys, the Infosys Summer of Ideas program offers our students engaged learning experiences that enhance their classroom education and help prepare them to be leading information professionals. Students will have the opportunity to engage with students from other universities around the globe and enhance their skill sets by generating new ideas and working through the challenges to act upon them.”