Programme
The TEAK Fellowship
Providing academic and personal support to high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds in New York City.
Supporting underrepresented youth to access introductory computer science education
Despite being in the heart of the global tech industry, thousands of students in San Francisco lack access to critical computer science education. Founded in 2012, Mission Bit bridges this gap by offering free, project-based CS courses and mentorship opportunities, ensuring that students who might otherwise be excluded have a pathway into tech. They deliver courses for those aged 14–26, with a priority focus on students of colour and those attending schools with limited or no computer science offerings.
The Hg Foundation’s $550,000 grant over the next three years will enable Mission Bit to design and deliver a brand-new course in a high-demand area of tech such as AI or cybersecurity. The new course will reach over 1,000 students, both directly through the extra-curricular programme and through accompanying workshops. Key measures of impact will include changes in young people’s attitudes and aspirations towards careers in tech, as well as their enrollment in college and selection of STEM majors. A portion of the funding will also strengthen Mission Bit’s data and impact capacity through external evaluation support.
We are truly grateful for the opportunity to design a new course offering for our young people in a high-demand subject area. At Mission Bit, we have always valued the ability to stay responsive and ensure that our students are receiving high-quality, industry-aligned material. With The Hg Foundation’s support, we are able to do just that on a larger scale, adding capacity to our team to build out new curriculum, creating digestible workshops to introduce students to the subject, and ensuring that the new class is shaped through feedback from our community and students.
