RISE to the computer science education challenge

Our business at Google is rooted in STEM education - science, technology, engineering and math - so we’re passionate about encouraging organizations that are expanding access to these fields. The annual Google Roots in Science and Engineering (RISE) program supports organizations running innovative STEM and computer science enrichment programs for K-12 and university students around the world.

Applications for the 2013 Awards are now open.



RISE promotes primary and secondary school education initiatives. Winners receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 USD. When we say around the world, we mean it. RISE Awards are open to applicants in six continents and 243 countries. All eligible nations are listed here. This year’s honorees include a Danish IT camp for girls, a UK student team producing a robot, to after-school programs that have students configuring cluster computers in the United States.

We believe it is our duty to support students who have the uncanny ability to create the technology they consume. Last August, our executive chairman Eric Schmidt lamented the sorry state of computer science education in UK schools. In a recent follow-up speech at London’s Science Museum, he explained, “Put simply, technology breakthroughs can’t happen without the scientists and engineers to make them. The challenge that society faces is to equip enough people, with the right skills and mindset and to get them to work on the most important problems.”

Show us what you can do to get students excited about STEM and computer science. Submit your application before September 30th, 2012. Winners will be announced by January 2013.

Posted by Niall Byrne, Pre-university Education Outreach Specialist