The Digital DNA Scholarships Program, created by IE Foundation and Santander Bank, wraps its first edition up with a very positive impact
The first edition of the Santander IE Digital DNA –an innovative program, from which 100 young people from 14 countries all over the world have benefited- was just completed.
On July 2019, Santander Bank and IE –through an agreement between Santander Universidades and IE Foundation-, launched a new scholarships program aimed at university students and young professionals from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Spain, UK, Uruguay and the US; with the goal of offering them training in digital transformation, new technologies and innovation, in order to boost their employability.
Thanks to this initiative, 100 young people have had the chance to take the Santander IE Digital DNA Program, from November 2019 to February 2020, which consisted in two High Impact Online Journeys (HIOPs), “New Technologies for Innovation” and “Data Science and Visualization for Business”, offered in Spanish and English. These students, of which 35% are women, have not only received 100% online training and materials, but also attended life online conferences and discussions in forums about big data, analysis, artificial intelligence or customer centricity.
“This program has helped me realize how much I like technology and I’m already looking forward to dedicating myself to digitally transform my company!”
(N. Ferron, Argentina, 2nd best grade of the program)
Moreover, in order to boost networking and create a connection among the students that keeps alive now that the program has come to an end, IE Foundation has created a LinkedIn group where 79 students actively take part on a weekly basis. An initiative welcomed by the students, who realize that the digital environment does not have to become an obstacle for the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
“It’s a pleasure for me to be a part of the scholarship program and I hope to follow the information on LinkedIn even after the end of the course.”
(A. Szawerna, Poland, 7th best grade of the program)
In addition to those 100 Digital DNAers, the Santander IE scholarships initiative has also launched 1,000 scholarships to take the Intelligence Tools for the Digital Age MOOC, an online course offered by IE Business School through Coursera’s platform, which will finish by the end of May this year. These students, besides training with the course, are receiving a weekly newsletter with updated contents on digital evolution, artificial intelligence, new consumers and technology applied to education.