Miami, Florida, Oct 17, 2024 – The Udonis Haslem Foundation, founded by three-time NBA Champion, Udonis Haslem, in partnership with Riders.ai and Miami EdTech, is proud to announce the expansion of its existing scholarship. This $30,000 expansion will go towards helping 500 more students gain access to robotics and coding STEM skills.
The Foundation saw a huge success after its initial partnership with Riders.ai and Miami EdTech during the 2023 - 2024 school year and has worked to secure funding to double this impact this school year. The expansion represents a commitment to providing more access to critical STEM skills for students in Miami Dade County Public Schools. With this expansion to 500 more students, Riders.ai will help foster engaging STEM, robotics and coding environments that allow Miami students to showcase their knowledge, and talent on a global scale.
"I'm excited to help continue to connect these kids to opportunities that seem to get to at-risk communities last. New ways of learning are the key to participating in a new and changing world, " says Udonis Haslem.
The integration of the Riders curriculum and competitions into Miami Dade County Public Schools promises to promote students' learning of essential skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, communication , and creativity. Equipping students with these skills helps prepare them for future careers in technology along with the challenges and opportunities that come with an ever changing future. The opportunity for Miami students to apply the knowledge they gain in global competitions against schools around the world is definitely motivating, and will certainly help showcase the talents of Miami youth to local technology company employers.
Max Ringelheim, Riders Director of Operations says, “After seeing and hearing so much positive feedback from our 20+ Miami schools who took advantage of this generous robotics and coding scholarship from the UD Foundation last school year, it only made sense to see how we could grow this impact this school year. Getting the opportunity to partner with Miami’s own, 3x NBA Champion, Udonis Haslem for the 2nd year in a row while doubling the number of impacted students is a special honor and demonstrates how valuable it is when influential people give back to their community.”
Miami EdTech, a driving force in the city's education technology ecosystem, is dedicated to providing teachers and students with the knowledge, skills, and capabilities to foster innovative technology driven classroom environments. As part of this collaboration, Miami EdTech will provide both teacher and student office hour support, ensuring that educators are well-equipped to guide their students effectively and so that students can thrive with the software. After seeing certain Riders students perform very well in summer internships at local technology companies, Miami EdTech will attempt to scale the number of Riders students in summer 2025 that land internships at even more local technology companies.
Carlos Vazquez, Founder and President of Miami EdTech says, “We are at a pivotal moment where the skills students need for tomorrow's workforce are evolving faster than ever. Many of the jobs these kids will pursue don’t even exist yet. By investing in robotics and coding education now, we are empowering our youth with the critical thinking, problem-solving, and technology skills that will prepare them for roles in industries that will shape the future.”
This collaboration aims to nurture Miami's tech talent pipeline by investing in the city's young talent pool, thus strengthening the city's position as a hub for innovation and technological advancement.
Other Miami Dade County Public Schools interested in joining this program are encouraged to reach out to Max Ringelheim at max@riders.ai, as there are still available spots for participation.
About Riders.ai
Riders.ai, is a virtual robotics and coding curriculum and competition platform. The software empowers students with the tools they need for STEM exploration. While using Riders, students learn how to build and program simulated 3D robots in real time all while developing algorithms that expose them to early AI skills such as image recognition, and object detection. This innovative and engaging platform requires nothing more than a computer, a Wi-Fi connection, and a web browser.
About Miami Ed Tech
Miami EdTech is an education technology non-profit organization on a mission to address the biggest challenges we face in education through innovation and technology. We aim to close the skills gap and improve economic opportunities for our community through computer science advocacy and integration, digital skilling and workforce development. Miami EdTech envisions a world where innovative technologies redefine education with real-world, scalable solutions.
About The Udonis Haslem Foundation
The Udonis Haslem Foundation’s mission is to give hope to children and families in underserved communities by facilitating exposure to opportunities and access to care and resources. Pillars also include mental health initiatives, as they relate to community accessibility programs such as low-income housing, financial literacy, and minority owned small businesses. For more information, please visit udcares.org.
For more information, please contact Max Ringelheim from Riders.ai at max@riders.ai or the Miami EdTech team at support@miamiedtech.com.
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Michelle Kammerman | michelle@thefactoryi.com
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