Cognizant is doing good and doing well. The technology consultancy wants to stem the tide of slowly degrading technical education in the U.S. It has just made a $1 million grant over three years to bolster the technology and engineering portions of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

Specifically, Cognizant’s grant will help Boston’s Museum of Science create a library of video training tools for the Museum’s Engineering is Elementary program and allow the New York Hall of Science to build a “Maker Space” for hands-on learning.

Cognizant saw three broad issues in elementary education, according to Mark Greenlaw, vice president, sustainability and educational affairs.

1. American kids are falling behind relative to other countries in both science and math, based on results from international tests. “We are below the median for 15-year-olds,” he reports.
2. There has been a decline in interest in STEM education. “A lot of kids feel it’s too geeky,” Greenlaw says. Many kids are overlooking STEM careers. The problem: “Because our kids lack interest in STEM, the U.S. faces a potential innovation crisis,” worries the Cognizant executive.
3. There’s a drop in measurable creativity, according to the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. This worries me the most,” says Greenlaw.

Cognizant has a history of making a difference. It currently has 20,000 volunteers working in public schools in India. The service provider has funded libraries and computer labs there. It even supplies lunches to hungry Indian children.

“We are a U.S.-based company and felt we wanted to do more here in the US,” Greenlaw says. (Cognizant is based in Teaneck, N.J.) Of course, educating American children also helps the supplier “by improving our future talent pool.”

The Engineering is Elementary program provides basic engineering education for elementary school children from kindergarten to fifth grade nationwide. The 20-unit program is designed to create engaging hands-on activities to spark children’s understanding of engineering.

Greenlaw says 32,000 teachers from coast-to-coast have used portions of its curriculum with over 2 million students since it was introduced in 2003.

An example: kids read a story about a child in Africa that can’t stop coughing because his mother cooks his food over a fire inside their hut. They have to:

• Understand the problem
• Brainstorm solutions
• Select one solution from the options
• Implement the solution

In this situation, the kids decide they need to build a solar oven – and then design and build it in the classroom.

“The program encourages creativity, collaboration and communication. We want people who have those abilities,” says Greenlaw.

The second beneficiary is the New York Hall of Science in Queens. The money will allow the museum to build a “Maker Space” where kids can make electronic gadgets, robots, software programs, or technology-enhanced clothing. “It’s an area where students and teachers can do hands-on projects that involve technology,” Greenlaw explains.

Finally, Cognizant is donating $500,000 a year to Citizens Schools to extend the learning day by three hours in low-income schools. Cognizant employees can become Citizen Teachers to teach 10-week “Apprenticeships”. This year Cognizant ranked No. 2 in Citizen Teacher volunteers, second only to Google. Greenlaw noted that employees from the company’s legal team are working with middle schoolers to create a campaign against violence. Another team of volunteers is leading a Robotics apprenticeship.

This year Cognizant hopes to launch a college scholarship program and fund after-school programs.

“The experience is life-changing,” Greenlaw reports.

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