Formation 2009 Registration no. 26-4742589 Headquarters Seattle, Washington | Type 501(c)(3) Non-profit Purpose STEM Education | |
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Motto We inspire students to give coding a try. | ||
StudentRND is a non-profit organization which runs multiple programs to promote STEM education for middle school, high school and college students. The organization is a non-profit corporation with IRS 501(c)(3) designation; headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Contents
According to the StudentRND website, the organization's goal is to "inspire students to give coding a try". The organizations programs aim to attract students to learn coding by leveraging existing interests, which the organization claims in an effective way of creating interest in new students.
At least 25,000 people have gone through StudentRNDs programs in 42 cities nationwide. The events attract a large number of beginners, but 70% of the beginners report that they are still coding several months after attending.
Attendees of StudentRND's programs are very diverse for the tech industry: 43% of CodeDay attendees are girls, 38% are from low-income communities, and 28% are minorities. Industry diversity is much lower, with Google reporting only 3% minorities, and 18% women attendees.
CodeDay
StudentRND created the CodeDay program, which are 24-hour programming competitions run across the US every few months, usually on long weekends. The program is currently hosted in 42 cities nationwide, focusing on areas traditionally underserved by tech education programs.
Events are held at existing venues, typically local tech companies or co-working spaces, who provide the space for free in exchange for being listed as a sponsor. Other expenses are typically paid for by additional sponsors. In exchange, sponsors are provided with recruiting opportunities.
The events run 24 hours with pitches at the beginning and presentations at the end; many students program for the entire event. Students may come with pre-formed teams or form them at the event, but may not have completed work prior to the event. Aside from this restriction, the rules are much more lax than many hackathons, allowing projects of any sort in any programming language or framework. StudentRND and local volunteers promote CodeDay events at local high schools and colleges.
Events are run by local volunteers under the guidance of facilitators. Organizers also contribute to an organizer guide, which is provided to organizers in new cities to help promote experimentation at the events.
Hackerspace
StudentRND started in 2009 as a Bellevue, Washington-based Hackerspace for students to use over the summer. In 2011, the space switched from operating only over the summer, to operating year-round. StudentRND discontinued the program in December 2013, citing lack of attendance and high costs.
StudentRND Labs
StudentRND has had several successful companies start at its workspace. As a result, in 2012, StudentRND launched the second incubator program for students. The first class of the incubator consisted of 5 teams of high school students, and two of college students, with a total of 28 student participants. The organization does not provide any funding to the teams, but does provide mentors, space, and weekly dinners with an eminent person speaking, and hosts a demo day at the end of the program.
The incubator program was continued as "StudentRND Labs" in 2013 and 2014 with less focus on business. The program was shortened from 2 months to 3 weeks in 2014, and then discontinued in 2015.
Funding
StudentRND is funded largely through corporate donations and grants, although the organization does accept individual donations.
Unlike the main workspace, the events are not free, costing between $10 and $20 per student. Some in the technology education field consider charging for these events controversial. StudentRND also charges for its Labs program, although, like with CodeDay, they provide no-questions-asked scholarships.