About
The Bridges to Computing project focuses on the transition years from high school to college, working to better inform students about and prepare them for careers in computing fields. BridgesD involves components geared toward advanced high school students, early college students and advanced college students.
Project activities include:- formal training---via context-based introductory and interdisciplinary undergraduate courses;
- informal training---through after-school and summer programs for high school students;
- mentoring---from high school students to undergraduates to doctoral students and faculty; and
- community outreach---to the College community and beyond, by connecting undergraduate computing students with local schools, small businesses and campus academic departments.
Bridges to Computing is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under its Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) program. The award was made in March 2006 to faculty members in the Computer and Information Science (CIS) department at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY): Prof Elizabeth Sklar (PI), Prof Samir Chopra, Prof Ira Rudowsky and Prof Simon Parsons. Prof Lori Scarlatos was originally the PI, before leaving Brooklyn College for a position elsewhere. In its first year, Bridges reached approximately 50 high school students from Brooklyn public schools, 12 advanced undergraduate computing student Ambassadors (i.e., peer mentors), and about 300 early undergraduate students through 17 sections of 12 newly developed or updated computing courses.