RIT/NTID receives Motorola Solutions Foundation Innovation Generation Grant

Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf has received a grant for $30,000 as part of the Innovation Generation Grant program from the Motorola Solutions Foundation, the charitable arm of Motorola Solutions Inc. Through the grant, RIT/NTID will fund its Tech Girlz and Tech Boyz outreach programs.

The Innovation Generation program provides awards to organizations that foster and support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives for teachers and students (U.S. preschool through university level)—especially girls and underrepresented minorities.

Tech Girlz and Tech Boyz are weeklong summer camps offered to deaf and hard-of-hearing students entering seventh, eighth and ninth grades who are interested in science, technology, engineering and math. They are taught in English and sign language and offer participants hands-on opportunities to explore technology, build robots and personal computers, and more. This year's Tech Girlz and Tech Boyz camps will be held July 23-28 at NTID.

"We are grateful for Motorola Solutions Foundation's generous support of our outreach tech programs," said Gerard Buckley, NTID president and RIT vice president and dean. "These camps provide opportunities for young deaf and hard-of-hearing students to explore careers that they may not have realized were available to them."

Motorola has been a leader in supporting RIT/NTID's academic and outreach programs, and this is the fourth time it has helped fund the Tech Girlz and Tech Boyz programs. Since 1984, Motorola Solutions has provided more than $1 million in funding to various RIT and NTID programs.

The Motorola Solutions Foundation grant program overall will impact about 1 million students and teachers this year, each receiving an average of 120 programming hours from partner nonprofit organizations and institutions. Programs support special populations, including girls and women; underrepresented minorities; the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community; people with disabilities; and the military. 

"The Motorola Solutions Foundation created the Innovation Generation Grant program nine years ago to support educational experiences that spark students to turn their dreams into innovations that will shape our society's future," said Matt Blakely, executive director of the Motorola Solutions Foundation. "Organizations like RIT/NTID are teaching tomorrow's leaders that careers in engineering and technology are both fun and within their reach."

Provided by Rochester Institute of Technology