Mohameth “Mo” Seck with students at District.
District New Haven sent in the following write-up and photos about a summer program for high-schoolers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the number of computer, gaming and information technology jobs will increase by 11 percent from 2019 to 2029.
High school students in the Elm City and surrounding areas have a new opportunity to level-up their web coding, design and digital content skills this summer at New Haven’s technology and innovation campus. District Arts + Education (DAE) is launching Summer DAEz featuring a full slate of free in-person workshops for rising juniors and seniors and recent graduates ages 16 and older.
Funding for the Summer DAEz program is provided by AccelerateCT Summer Program Innovation Grant and New Haven Innovation Collaborative, a founding partner of DAE.
“Our unique workshops are designed specifically for motivated students to learn in a real-world environment. They’ll make connections to ideas and concepts and build a portfolio that will help them as creators and benefit them as they pursue a career,” said DAE Co-Founder & Executive Director A.M. Bhatt. “Our mission is to equip individuals with both the digital skills to enter the 21st century workplace, and the personal and interpersonal skills to transform those workplaces into more humane and sustainable systems.”
But students need to act quickly as there are only a few more slots left. Summer DAEz registration is underway at https://www.transformnhv.org/summer-daez and no prior experience, technology or equipment are required. Students can choose from 4‑week intensives starting July 1 or Aug. 2 including Intentional Websites: Making the Internet Work for You and Digital Storytelling & Content Creation, or opt for one-week half-day sessions in July including Developing a Website: From Code to Web, Digital Content Creation, and Designing Solutions.
Mohameth “Mo” Seck, a software engineer and web development educator for Summer DAEz, recently met with students from Wilbur Cross High School who could see how the workshops would be an ideal asset.
“The students asked great questions and have a real interest in being inventors,” he said. “What’s missing is project and hands-on opportunities. I’m really looking forward to helping them connect with new skills so they can start a new business or use the portfolio they build here to connect with a job. And, of course they’ll make friends.”
Wilbur Cross Teacher and Computer Science Educator Robert Morales (pictured) accompanied students on their recent visit and commented, “DAE has a lot to offer New Haven students… lessons on how to build your own website and video editing and different techniques that will help them in life as they go into high school and college.”
Registration and more information is available on the DAE website.
DAE is the nonprofit arm of District New Haven. DAE is focused on equipping young people with real life, hands-on experience through creative learning infused with technology.
It's really great that the DAE and AccelerateCT Summer Program Innovation Grant and New Haven Innovation Collaborative are providing STEM skills summer camps for NH young people. Not everyone is into traditional summer camps, sports or camp counselor activities. This program provides a step up into future jobs in the computer, gaming and information technology job fields for our young people.