MISSION
To create the next generation of pioneers, trailblazers, innovators, and change-makers.
PURPOSE
To prepare secondary students for success in a dynamic world characterized by complexity, unpredictability, change, and opportunity.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
Provide young entrepreneurs and computer scientists with experience designing, coding, building software products and launching tech companies.
Introduction to Coding & Software Development (University Prep Program)
A Full year program of coding with JavaScript and Python for high school students that want to apply to computer engineering programs at university. High school coding programs are limited in their availability and breadth. Our instructors are experienced senior software engineers and tech entrepreneurs, and participants will learn to code at Infotech Research Group (ITRG), one of London’s most successful tech companies, providing participants with experience and understanding of what it is like to work in the tech industry. This program will cover both introductory and advanced topics in coding using JavaScript, Python, HTML, and CSS. The program team will work with participants to set up their GitHub repository with real coding projects and to complete their university application with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the tech industry. Participants will also have the opportunity to opt-in to the college certificate and be granted a One-Year Certificate in Business and Technology entrepreneurship, accredited by the Ontario Private College – The British Canadian Institute of Technology.
PERSONALIZED EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
During the program, the entrepreneurs learn to solve problems and design solutions for real customers. They will explore how to build a business model and pitch deck (including a financial plan) while building software and/or a tech company, they will develop the global competencies needed to excel in their future career.
Hacking Minecraft – Introduction to Computer Science – JavaScript
High school coding programs are limited in their availability and breadth. This program is an introduction to Coding with JavaScript in Minecraft. Participants will more advanced topics, and how to use loops, sequencing, conditionals, variables, and functions. In these lessons, you can choose to code in JavaScript. Our instructors are experienced senior software engineers and tech entrepreneurs, and participants will learn to code at Infotech Research Group (ITRG), one of London’s most successful tech companies, providing participants with experience and understanding of what it is like to work in the tech industry.
Developing Global Competencies
BCI believes strongly that we need to give young people the opportunity to be ‘theory builders’, to test and revisit their knowledge gained through experiential learning. They need to recognize that fostering scientific thinking, is a process of finding out, and they need time, space, and materials to exercise their curiosity. Certain character qualities (attitudes) or dispositions are central to coding and computational thinking, innovation, and entrepreneurship. These include curiosity, a drive to experiment, and a desire to challenge theories and to share new ideas (Costa & Kallick, 2008).
Business and Technology Entrepreneurship (University Prep Program)
A two-term program that introduces young people to business and technology entrepreneurship. High school students will learn the foundational principles of entrepreneurship, how to start their own company, and the technology tools they can use to build their own Web Application product. The top business schools in Canada and abroad look at the experience as much as they do grades. The program will end with a pitch competition with the purpose of preparing participants to launch a summer company (Summer 2023) and apply for a $3000 grant from the Ontario Government. The program team, which consists of academics and entrepreneurs from local business schools, will assist participants in completing their university applications. Participants will also have the opportunity to opt-in to the college certificate and be granted a One-Year Certificate in Business and Technology entrepreneurship, accredited by the Ontario Private College – The British Canadian Institute of Technology.