Twelve undergraduate and doctoral students from the College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) and four other universities will spend spring break helping teachers and students in Haiti.

Six faculty members and community mentors will join the participants, who are part of the Students and Technology in Academia, Research and Service (STARS) Leadership Corps. Led by CCI, STARS is a national consortium of higher education institutions dedicated to prepare a larger, more diverse computing workforce for the 21st century.

During the March trip, STARS participants will train teachers and students to use kid-friendly laptops and computer-based education to enhance learning and creativity. They also will train and mentor 24 Haitian high-schoolers who will continue to promote learning with computers.

“One reason that many U.S. students do not pursue computing-based college majors is the perception that computing careers focus solely on technology not people,” said Teresa Dahlberg, CCI professor and associate dean. “The STARS Leadership Corps challenges students to find innovative ways of leveraging technology to solve important social and global problems.” 

This alternative spring break trip builds on “High Hopes Haiti” (HHH), a project of Charlotte-headquartered nonprofit Mothering Across Continents (MAC) in collaboration with nonprofit Hands for Haiti. 

Tiffany Barnes, associate professor of computer science and experienced developer of youth-focused educational software, will help guide the trip. She noted, “The trip’s main goal is to enhance learning in Haitian schools through fun laptop games that promote inquiry-based learning while enabling STARS college students to apply their computing skills for social good.”

With funding from the National Science Foundation, Dahlberg and Barnes founded the STARS Alliance in 2005. Individuals or organizations interested in making donations to support STARS college student travel and accommodations ($1,500) should contact Ashley Peeler at 704-687-0389 or email ashley.peeler@uncc.edu.