Let’s start KidsMentor Program
This idea dropped in my mind after successful #sitKIDS event in #sitWDF. Unfortunately I could not attend, but followed in twitter thanks to SAP community.
Imagine a group of young talents and trying to influence young and fresh minds wearing great kid mentor t-shirts, taking stage in Techeds and shaping future. What a great scene.
Also these kid mentors can organize their own events getting help from elder mentor brothers and sisters.
Let me explain in detail, program can be initiated in a pilot country, for example in Germany. One mentor from Germany can be volunteer for this program, in order to initiate and execute the program.
Now I believe there is a list of kids who are attended to the latest #sitKIDS. Volunteer mentor, can create a shortlist of candidates, and the Mentor Selection Board might contact to families and explain the program details to parents and try to get permission for items below:
- Mentor Kid will meet SAP Deveopers in Walldorf and share his/her visit details with a blog, with special tag reserved for Mentor Kıds.
- Mentor Kid might organize a CodeJam like event in his/her school with help of SAP.
- Group of kid developers can develop an application with the help of SAP Developers and might present it Techeds.
- Mentor Kid might visit nearby SAP Communities and take stage in Inside Tracks.
- Mentor Kıd can meet once a month with one of SAP Leaders, like Bill McDermott, Hasso Plattner, or John Appeby…and share his meeting video on Youtube channels.
My mentor candidate for KidMentor program is Jitendra Kansal 🙂 Read his great blog about this great event : SAP Inside Track Walldorf 2018 #sitWDF along with #sitKIDS – A great example of increasing diversity
Now I thing Jason Cao and Katarina Fischer can move this idea to SAP.
Curios about your comments,
Cheers,
@sarhanpolatates
Interesting.
Your mentor kid will grow up. So if they are still interested, you'll find a mentor college student. If they aren't, then they leave the program.
I have to wonder how often children use SAP or even have access to it. That could be a challenge. I'm really not sure about this one. But we've been wondering for a long time how to get kids interested in STEM degrees. Something like this might help it.
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Great points you have touched as usual 🙂 Let me try to think about Kid Mentor's career; auto retirement and moving to SAP University program might be option when kid mentor reaches the certain age or school degree. These retired KidMentors can help new fresh KidMentors if they like to do so.
KidMentors will not touch SAP only products, as you know SAP is one of the Cloud Foundry supporters and SAP is driving a special program for startups ( I could not remember the name of the program, Celonis has growed up from this program if I am not wrong). So KidMentors will influence other Kids about to shape future products and startups.
This is what I dream about 🙂
Cheers,
Sarhan.
Excellent dream. And good panel to be looking at something from a different perspective. And really this could get our younger generation excited about actually working in the field. That would be a huge benefit!
I also know that students love to communicate with other countries - this could give them the opportunity to do that. I like it.
Now to get someone who can really help like it.
Michelle
John Astill, I remember one Teched where you had children with you. It's been a while... What do you think?
I think it's a great idea. There are of course other programs still ongoing. In Newtown Square we hold numerous events for kids supported by our d-shop. We had 160 kids in our Take Your Child To Work Day, other locations also have events for kids. We host numerous school visits and programs too, TechGirlz, Girls Exploring Tech....
I see Renan and Andreas have the Young Thinkers covered (https://blogs.sap.com/2016/10/10/sap-young-thinkers-program-hosted-sap-university-alliance-seidman-college-business-october-2016/ ).
Outside North America I believe we still have a number of SAP sponsored First Lego League teams.
I can't believe the SAP Droids in demo jam was as far back as 2012, time flies!
https://news.sap.com/teched-kids-demojam-app/
John
Hi Sarhan,
It's not the same as "KidsMentor" but SAP has an initiative called "SAP Young Thinkers" where they partner with schools in order to provide workshops and lectures about the latest business technologies for these schools students and showcase some SAP solutions. They even invite schools to events at SAP to know the company works.
Regards,
Renan Correa
Hi Renan,
Many thanks for information, I really do not know this initiative, it looks like what I have recommended.
Cheers,
Sarhan
As long as the kids have time and fun doing it, I think it's a very nice idea!
If it was just more activity crammed in there already full schedules, it's not.
I can’t really make that call, as my kids are to young (oldest is 3 years).
best
Joachim
Hi Joachim,
You are in the most hectic period since your oldest one at 3, after 4-5 years real fun will come with kids, but will not stand long, they are groving very fast 🙁 and prefer to spend time with friends.
I have two daughters 6 and 11 years old. If the program starts somehow, my candidate for Turkish KidMentor is my elder daughter, she loves coding.
Cheers,
Sarhan.
I pondered a bit about your idea.
I am supporting multiple of the kids initiatives we have in Germany at SAP such as Cleverlinge, SITKIDS and Young Thinkers. There are a lot more initiatives supported by SAP worldwide (I have a good list of them here with approx. 50 initiatives)
Some of these initiatives run one-time events such as SITKIDS or the Young Thinkers Go Digital Nights. I was always a bit sad that if one of the kids participating there really liked what they learned in the event, there was no follow up from SAP side.
So your proposal could be integrated with some of these existing initiatives to allow interested kids to explore the topic further.
The elder mentors could help their local group of kids to run projects. I imagine that the time invested would be something like one meeting with the elder mentor per week. Sounds good to me.
Miriam Boehnke