BWI: Wipro Partners with Michigan State University to Launch Wipro STEM Fellowship Program in US

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Wipro - Michigan State University
Thursday, December 19, 2013 05:27 PM IST (11:57 AM GMT)
Editors: General: People; Business: Business services, Education & training, Information technology; Technology
--------------------------------------------------
Wipro Partners with Michigan State University to Launch Wipro STEM Fellowship Program in US
Program to Improve STEM Education by Developing Teacher Leaders

East Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, Thursday, December 19, 2013 -- (Business Wire India) -- Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT), a leading global Information Technology and Consulting company, and Michigan State University (MSU) today jointly announced the launch of a fellowship program in the United States. This multi-year program will be funded by a USD 2.8 million grant from Wipro, and will involve over a hundred school teachers, with the aim of nurturing excellence in science and mathematics, starting with the public school systems of Chicago.

The Wipro STEM Fellowship Program will focus on building leadership in these disciplines in urban schools by leveraging on research validated expertise of the College of Education at the MSU in designing transformative and innovative instructional experiences. For the Chicago public schools system, this program and its fellow teachers will be an integrated part of its effort towards STEM capacity development in the districts.

Wipro's initiative is aligned with the US national goal to significantly improve the quality of education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). "Wipro is committed to being an involved participant in its communities. This initiative seeks to develop and inspire young people to contribute to excellence in STEM education," said T.K Kurien, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board, Wipro Ltd.

The program, to be entirely funded by Wipro, will identify teachers committed to teaching in urban schools after a rigorous selection process. Participants will be elementary or secondary school educators.

Successful participants will earn a Graduate Certificate in STEM Teaching and Leadership recognizing their commitment and expertise in STEM fields in urban education. All program participants will also become part of the STEM Urban Learning & Leadership Community. This community seeks to create a cohort culture that builds both individual and collective capacity to give an impetus for STEM learning outcomes among urban students. The program leverages directly on the significant Urban Education initiatives of the College of Education, MSU, and its award winning Master of Arts Program in Education Technology.

The College of Education, MSU is one of the leading schools of education in the US, working across multiple states.

"There is a critical shortage of excellent math and science teachers nationwide and even more so in urban school districts," said project co-leader Sonya Gunnings-Moton, assistant dean in the College of Education, Michigan State University. "We need leaders among teachers who can build not only their own capacity to improve learning, but also the capacity of their colleagues."

Aarti Dhupelia, Chief Officer of College and Career Success at Chicago Public Schools said, "The cornerstone of providing a high quality STEM education for our students is ensuring we have exceptional math and science teachers leading the way. We are so grateful for this partnership with Wipro and Michigan State University that will have a transformational impact in our classrooms and communities."

"This program is designed to develop each of these teachers into catalysts of change in disadvantaged communities of urban areas. This initiative also dovetails with our vision of making a deep and impactful contribution towards achieving high quality education," said Anurag Behar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Wipro Ltd.

This initiative with MSU is the second such program that Wipro has kicked off in the past 16 months in the US. In 2012, Wipro and the University of Massachusetts, Boston (UMass Boston) jointly launched a fellowship program across 10 districts of Boston and Newark area in STEM Education, with the aim of fostering excellence.

Since the beginning of the last decade, Wipro has unveiled a raft of initiatives targeted at resolving issues dogging India's education system. Wipro's Applying Thought in Schools aims to improve the quality of school education. Mission10x is an initiative, wherein the company works with college teachers to enhance employability skills of engineering graduates in India.

Wipro employs more than 10,000 professionals across 48 states in the US. Wipro has a vigorous recruitment program and hires from colleges and universities across the US.

About Wipro Ltd.

Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Information Technology and Consulting company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of "Business through Technology" - helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioner's approach to delivering innovation, and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro has a workforce of 140,000 serving clients across 61 countries. For more information, please visit www.wipro.com.

Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.



CONTACT DETAILS
Vipin Nair, Wipro Limited, +91 (80) 39916260, vipin.nair1@wipro.com
Subhashini Pattabhiraman, Wipro Limited, +91 (80) 39916558, subhashini.pattabhiraman@wipro.com

KEYWORDS
PEOPLE, BUSINESS SERVICES, EDUCATION, IT, TECHNOLOGY

If you wish to change your Business Wire India selection please click on this link http://www.businesswireindia.com/media/news.asp and use your personal username and password to login.

Submit your press release at http://www.businesswireindia.com