NPO Kidsdoor and Qualcomm Wireless Reach Launch IT Drive Program

Qualcomm, through its Qualcomm® Wireless Reach ™ initiative, is collaborating with NPO Kidsdoor on a new program that will provide project-based IT training in Japan. This program will improve career readiness, IT literacy, and communication skills for middle and high school students in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward.

The IT Drive program, which kicked off in September at Kyoiku Plaza Chuo in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward, will benefit 100 middle and high school students by offering digital production and drone programming courses in the next year.

“This program will combine Qualcomm's wireless technology with Kidsdoor’s experience of offering free after-school tutoring for disadvantaged children in order to provide IT education for students in need," said Yumiko Watanabe, President of NPO Kidsdoor. “Our goal is to create a society full of smiling children, where they can grow and learn, regardless of their background.”

Qualcomm believes that the lack of access to educational tools and learning environments should not be a barrier to student learning. The GIGA School concept is a plan that computers will be provided for every student in Japan by March 2023. Qualcomm Technologies is promoting the use of cellular-connected PCs with LTE access to connect all students to the Internet and learning materials, regardless of whether they have internet access at home or not.

“As a global leader in wireless technology, Qualcomm has been committed to improving people's lives with advanced mobile technologies and making positive contributions to social and economic development.” said Junko Sunaga, President of Qualcomm Japan. “The IT Drive program is a key milestone for Qualcomm Wireless Reach in Japan.  In this program, cellular-connected PCs will be used, and we believe that the program with NPO Kidsdoor can increase career readiness and IT literacy for students in need.”

The IT Drive program also aims to address the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology’s (MEXT) goal to reduce high rates of chronic absenteeism in schools by having IT Drive program participation count towards school attendance for select students.

About Qualcomm and Qualcomm Wireless Reach

Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch, and expansion of 5G.  When we connected the phone to the internet, the mobile revolution was born.  Today, our foundational technologies enable the mobile ecosystem and are found in every 3G, 4G and 5G smartphone. We bring the benefits of mobile to new industries, including automotive, the internet of things, and computing, and are leading the way to a world where everything and everyone can communicate and interact seamlessly.

Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering, research, and development functions, and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business.

Qualcomm Wireless Reach invests in sustainable programs that demonstrate innovative uses of wireless technology to strengthen economic and social development globally. Our programs foster entrepreneurship, aid in public safety, enhance the delivery of health care, enrich teaching and learning, and improve environmental sustainability. Since 2006, Qualcomm Wireless Reach has benefitted more than 20 million people through 126 programs in 49 countries around the world.

About NPO Kidsdoor

NPO Kidsdoor is a non-profit organization whose mission is to realize a society where all children are empowered to pursue their own hopes and dreams. Japan has the highest rate of poverty among single parents of any of the 37 member countries of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), as well as an overall child poverty rate that ranks well above the OECD average. Growing up in poverty has severe impacts on children’s educational achievement, which in turn, limits their employment opportunities and future earnings perpetuating a cycle of poverty. To interrupt this cycle, NPO Kidsdoor operates free afterschool youth centers and tutoring programs for children from low-income and otherwise disadvantaged households across Tokyo and Tohoku, serving nearly 2,000 children each year. NPO Kidsdoor offers a range of services including one-on-one tutoring, specialized IT and English support, career/college counselling, meal assistance, chronically absent student support, as well as events and workshops. Through this programming, Kidsdoor works to counteract the obstacles to educational achievement created by limited financial resources and make sure that all children are empowered to pursue their own hopes and dreams.