Samsung "Solve for Tomorrow" Picks Finalists for Education Awards (via brandchannel)

Samsung "Solve for Tomorrow" Picks Finalists for Education Awards

Posted by Barry Silverstein on January 27, 2011 10:30 AM

In his State of the Union Address on Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama said more than a few words about the importance of education in general, and science and math education in particular, to the future of the United States.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is critically important to the success of technology companies as well, because of their ongoing need for skilled employees — so significant, in fact, that Samsung launched a program last September called Solve for Tomorrow as part of the brand's Hope for Children initiative.
Samsung is promising to award $1 million worth of its electronics, in addition to Microsoft and Adobe software, and DirecTV educational programming, to winning schools.
The company says Solve for Tomorrow is designed to "raise enthusiasm for STEM education, illuminate the power of STEM to positively impact our environment and communities, and to improve the technology gap in classrooms." To addition to partnering with Microsoft, Adobe, and DirecTV, Samsung is working with the National Environmental Educational Foundation, GreatSchools, Change the Equation, and Communities In Schools on the initiative.
More than 1,000 applications for the program from 6 - 12th grade teachers across the US who, along with their students, answered the question: "How can science or math help improve the environment in your community." Fifty finalists were selected to participate in a video competition. Each finalist received a video creation kit containing $50,000 of technology, including a Samsung laptop, camcorder and software from Adobe.
Now the top 10 finalists are being featured for online voting on the program's website. End results will be calculated based on 40% online votes and 60% by a judging panel. Samsung expects to invite the top five finalists to an event in the spring announcing the grand prize winner.
Through Samsung's Hope for Children programs, Samsung Electronics America and its retail and business partners have raised more than $25 million and donated technology and other prizes to over 300 schools, community-based foundations, and charities throughout the United States since 2004. Samsung is one of the world's leading technology brands, ranked #19 in Interbrand's 2010 Best Global Brands ranking.