Transition year students in the Rosses Community School Dungloe have become the first ever Irish winner of the TCS flagship STEM education program, goIT (go Innovate Together).
The team of five of Cianan McDaid, Eoghan O’ Hagan, Darragh Davidson, Louie Mort and Dylan Doherty, competed with schools across Ireland and the UK to win the recent monthly challenge to Promote Social Inclusion for All by creating a digital innovation that empowers and promotes the inclusion of all people, regardless of their background.
The winning project from the team at Rosses Community School saw them develop their ‘Coffair’ App which they designed to help reduce the exploitation of coffee farmers that are faced with language barriers when trying to negotiate fair prices for their goods.
Their innovative app would enable coffee farmers to connect with buyers in a global market to enable more transparency in the supply chain.
Commenting on the achievement, Brian Kelly, TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) CSR Manager said: “I am thrilled that the Rosses Community School were the first Irish winners of the goIT challenge. This monthly challenge is a recurring opportunity for classrooms to directly engage in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the goIT digital innovation. It is also an excellent opportunity for students all over Ireland to express their innovative ideas and gain valuable experience in presenting their ideas.”
The winning students recently visited the TCS Global Delivery Centre in Letterkenny, where TCS provides IT services, consulting and business solutions on behalf of its many Irish and multinational customers.
Winners of TCS’ goIT monthly challenge, Cianan McDaid, Eoghan Ohagan, Darragh Davidson, Louie Mort and Dylan Doherty pictured with TCS leadership at TCS Global Delivery Centre, Letterkenny.
While visiting, the TY Economics Students spent the morning in the TCS boardroom discussing their app idea with the TCS Leadership team Andrea McBride, Gerard Grant, Chris Lynch and CSR Manager Brian Kelly. TCS leadership were highly impressed with the ‘Coffair’ app innovative idea, the students’ detailed presentation, and their confidence.
Andrea McBride, Head of TCS Global Delivery Centre said: “We were delighted to welcome the winning students to our Global Delivery Centre in Letterkenny to present to our leadership team.
“It was great to hear about their fantastic innovation and to give them some information on our work at TCS, giving an overview of what we deliver to our customers around the globe and the employment opportunities available for their future in Donegal. We hope the goIT experience was a fun and creative way to learn more about STEM and computer science.”
TCS has a large presence in Ireland where it employs over 1,000 people located at the TCS Global Delivery Centre in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.
The TCS goIT program aims to inspire students to consider a career in computer science and technology, spark curiosity in their minds and enhance confidence and employability.
It also works to empower students to design and develop innovative digital solutions for community problems, provide exposure and insight into varied roles within an IT company and the business world and challenge gender stereotypes by showcasing women in STEM as role models.
The initiative empowers students with the skills and practice and provides mentorship to prepare them for careers of the future. To date, the international goIT monthly challenge has led to the design of more than 26,000 tech-for-good digital innovation prototypes by young innovators.
