Prince's Trust to teach IT skills in Will.i.am-backed digital learning centre

A Samsung-backed digital learning classroom designed to help disadvantaged young people learn technology-based skills has opened at the Prince's Trust Kennington Centre.

Packed with the company's latest kit, it came into existence following advice and funding from an unlikely tech advocate.

Talent show panelist and popstar Will.i.am, who is also a Creative Director at Intel and well into his 3D printing, set wheels in motion after encouraging the centre's CEO Martina Millburn to put more focus on teaching students STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects.

Speaking to TechRadar Pro, Millburn said that the advice was "a real lightbulb moment" after previously seeing STEM as being "part of the IT department that was done in a basement".

She said: "Will went to talk to a group of our young people who asked him if they could have a contract in the music business, and he said 'no, learn to code', as that's where it's all heading. I suddenly understood that it needs to run in the DNA throughout the Trust, as literacy and numeracy does."

Gearing up

Samsung is working with the Prince's Trust over a three-year period to support the Fairbridge programme at the centre, which sees courses taught on anything from coding to music production and video editing by the centre's own staff, trained youth workers and external organisations.

The South Korea-based tech giant has provided interactive whiteboards, wireless printers, Galaxy Note 10.1 tablets, all-in-one PCs, 55-inch LED TVs and laptops - including several Series 5 Chromebooks. The classroom also provides means to facilitate teacher training, connectivity and maintenance support to the centre.

A representative from the Trust told us that the courses will be taught using both software packages installed on computers in the classroom in addition to various cloud services, depending on the content and methods involved.

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