TEANECK, N.J., March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) today announced it is awarding 40 grants to expand afterschool, in-school, and summer programs across more than 60 sites in 25 states through its Making the Future education initiative. Designed to promote creativity and inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) among young learners, the initiative supports fun, hands-on "making" programs for students from grade school through high school. The 2016 grants will provide approximately 175,000 hours of making activities, including projects on electronics, robotics, computer programming, digital fabrication, 3D printing and wearable technology.

Cognizant's Making the Future initiative, part of the company's overall efforts to promote skills that help ensure a competitive American workforce, was launched in 2011.  Through the annual grants and other programs, Making the Future has introduced more than 260,000 children nationwide to over 1.9 million hours of making activities focused on STEM disciplines.

"Numerous studies show that in addition to developing their creativity, confidence and motivation, making is an excellent way for children to gain exposure to the STEM disciplines and gain experience with the types of workforce skills required to succeed in our evolving digital economy," said Steven Schwartz, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Cognizant. "The talent shortage in the STEM fields is real.  Through Making the Future, Cognizant is giving young learners an avenue for developing interest and passion for STEM subjects across socio-economic barriers and stereotypical gender divides. As a U.S.-based company and technology leader, Cognizant is committed to developing and supporting education initiatives that promote skills for the 21^st century knowledge economy, helping American workers thrive today and in the future, and preparing our youth to capitalize on STEM career opportunities going forward."

Making programs continue to be facilitated predominately by museums, libraries, Makerspaces and youth-focused non-profits. However, the 2016 Making the Future grant applications indicated increasing interest from a broader set of stakeholders, including: schools seeking to incorporate making as an integral part of classroom instruction; non-profit real estate development corporations investing in making incubators to grow creative economies; and colleges committed to collaborative projects with youth organizations in underserved neighborhoods.

"We know that Cognizant's grant is a strong investment in our students' futures," said Dr. Shawn Hirsch, Director at The Monarch School in Houston, Texas. "By expanding the technological capacity of The STEAMworks, Cognizant will allow Monarch's students to explore, learn and experiment in the world of rapid manufacturing and engineering. Students will have access to cutting-edge tools, both digital and machine, to dream, create, collaborate and improve. Our students will be able to grow from reluctant learners with challenges that seem insurmountable to agents of change with unique perspectives and powerful voices. We are thrilled to be working with Cognizant."

"The Lower Eastside Girls Club is thrilled to receive funding from Cognizant for Maker Girls, a production-centered program aimed at strengthening digital literacy and scientific knowledge in tween girls by marrying technical skills with creative expression," said Dr. Lyn Pentecost, Founder and Executive Director of the Lower Eastside Girls Club in New York. "Together with Cognizant we can 'make' the world a better place!"

The 40 organizations receiving Making the Future grants in 2016 are:

Arizona
Zaharis Elementary, Mesa, Ariz.
Arkansas
Rogers Public Library, Rogers, Ark.
California
Alum Rock Educational Foundation, San Jose, Calif.
ReCreate, Roseville, Calif.
San Diego Makers Guild, San Diego, Calif. 
Florida
Tampa Hackerspace Inspiration Labs, Tampa, Fla.
Georgia
Nsoromma School, Atlanta, Ga.
Illinois
Chicago ACE Mentor Program, Chicago, Ill.
Indiana
John H. Boner Community Center, Indianapolis, Ind.
Iowa
Jewels Academy, Des Moines, Iowa
Louisiana
Young Aspirations Young Artists (YAYA), New Orleans, La.
Maryland
Digital Harbor Foundation, Baltimore, Md.
Massachusetts
The Possible Project, Cambridge, Mass.
Michigan
Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan, Detroit, Mich.
Minnesota
St. Paul Public Library, St. Paul, Minn.
Missouri
St. Charles Community College, Cottleville, Mo.
New Jersey
Piscataway Public Library, Piscataway, N.J.
Newark Museum, Newark, N.J.
Boys & Girls Club of Paterson & Passaic, N.J.
Morris Museum, Morristown, N.J.
New York
Lower East Side Girls Club, New York City, N.Y.
Dreamyard Project, Bronx, N.Y.
Emerging Leaders in Technology and Engineering (ELiTE), New York City, N.Y.
All Star Code, New York City, N.Y.
North Carolina
Behailu Academy, Charlotte, N.C.
Granville County Schools, Oxford, N.C.
Schiele Museum of Natural History, Gastonia, N.C.
Ohio
Tech Corps, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio
Oregon
YMCA of Columbia-Willamette,  Beaverton, Ore.
Pennsylvania
University Science Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.
South Carolina
College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C.
Children's Museum of the Upstate, Greenville, S.C.
Texas
The Monarch School, Houston, Texas
Girlstart, Bryan and Austin, Texas
Skillpoint Alliance, Austin, Texas
Transmit Receive Labs Inc., Houston, Texas
Utah
Utah State University Extension 4-H, Iron, Kane, and Washington Counties, Utah
Virginia
Vector Space, Lynchburg, Va.
Washington
YMCA of the Inland Northwest, Spokane, Wash.

Cognizant has already exceeded its White House 2014 commitment to provide 1.5 million hours of making experiences to 25,000 youth in over 200 communities by the end of 2017. In addition to awarding annual program grants, Cognizant's Making the Future initiative teams with leading non-profits and maker-focused organizations in expanding the maker footprint across the U.S. through a variety of initiatives, including: DonorsChoose.org in funding classroom projects, Maker Corps in hosting sites to train making facilitators, and Maker Faires in New York and California in hosting the Young Makers Pavilion. New alliances for Cognizant in 2016 include FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, an international K-12 not-for-profit organization that inspires young people's interest and participation in science and technology) to sponsor Junior FIRST Lego Leagues in neighborhood libraries, as well as an extension of ongoing initiatives with the New York Hall of Science in sponsoring its Maker Space plus its upcoming Maker Therapy initiative.  In addition, Cognizant annually awards U.S. college scholarships to students pursuing STEM careers and supports various workforce training initiatives.

About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the world's leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 100 development and delivery centers worldwide and approximately 221,700 employees as of December 31, 2015, Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at www.cognizant.com or follow us on Twitter: @Cognizant

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