T-Kids: Innovative ways of educating elementary school children in the STEM skills

In this contribution we discuss our experiences as a large ICT company that has educational initiatives for various target groups among our strategic priorities. We believe in passion for information technology (IT) and its sharing with children-and we believe this helps our company in the future to thrive and satisfy our customers. This does not happen automatically, but through our investment into innovative learning approaches for the children at the elementary school levels, we can (i) inspire them at young age for IT, for new technologies or agile work, (ii) open up their potential in areas that many believe are not for them, and (iii) increase the overall level of digital skills in the region and thus make it a more attractive place for our future employees. We feel responsible for nurturing partnerships with local schools and thus paying back to the region where majority of our employees live and have their families. We believe in a role model company and want to lend our hand not only in the business sphere but also in the world beyond business. T-Kids has been inspired by criticism from various sources of the quality and depth of teaching STEM skills at the schools in Slovakia. Although this project represents a tiny drop in the educational landscape, its impact is in showing that a change is possible and that it is enthusiastically welcome by the children.