NEWPORT NEWS—Brooks Crossing Innovations Lab (iLab) in Newport News will host a kickoff event on Wednesday, October 27 at 6pm to launch the SAP Young Thinkers program with students from An Achievable Dream Academy.
Founded in 1972, SAP was initially called System Analysis Program Development (Systemanalyse Programmentwicklung), later abbreviated to SAP. Since then, it has grown from a small, five-person multinational enterprise headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, to a company with more than 101,000 employees worldwide.
SAP Young Thinkers provides a wide range of events, programs, and opportunities designed to help students explore the possibilities of a digital world, including Snap!, a cloud-native programming environment used to introduce students to coding.
This particular program will assist Brooks Crossing Innovations Lab (iLab) in its mission to promote and inspire the curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, career readiness, entrepreneurship, and an interest in lifelong learning through digital and hands-on fabrication and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programming that aligns education with economic development, industry, and workforce needs. Students will enjoy a one-hour session in the iLab, learning coding and using Snap! To create a game.
Presenters will include Mia Joe, director of Brooks Crossing Innovation Lab, Morris Foster, vice president of research at Old Dominion University, Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding, and Scott Thatcher, SAP Chief Operating Officer, Regulated Industries.