OTTAWA, ON – January 25, 2019
ICTC and Riipen partner to integrate project-based business skills learning for grades 6-12.
Today, the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) is pleased to announce a partnership agreement with Riipen, North America’s largest marketplace, that connects industry with educators to enable real-world learning experiences. Riipen’s secure web-based platform will include an ICTC Business Skills portal that will connect students, educators and industry through project-based learning experiences. Student teams will sign in and have the opportunity to work together to solve business challenges submitted to the platform by industry. Introducing business skills challenges at the middle and secondary school level will engage students earlier on, helping them acquire hands-on experience and develop confidence at an even younger age.
“Empowering Canada’s youth to acquire digital skills through active exploration and inquiry-based learning by leveraging real industry challenges is a sure way to build the technical, analytical, and social skills necessary to succeed in tomorrow’s economy. We are delighted to partner with Riipen to expand the range of learning tools for Canada’s youth to succeed in a fast-evolving digital marketplace and changing nature of work.”
– Namir Anani, President & CEO of ICTC
As digital technologies change the composition of employment, ICTC’s online Business Skills Challenges will be an innovative collaboration between business and education that will help students become the next generation of entrepreneurs, creators, innovators and professionals to build the digital and business skills they will need to succeed.
Companies will post their industry challenge to the portal, and school teams will bid to solve them. The winning bid will be awarded the project and students will work collaboratively, under their educator’s supervision and with a mentor from the company, to provide a real-world solution by a pre-set deadline.
As part of ICTC’s Digital DASH initiative, a CanCode recipient, the challenges are designed to be inclusive and will be accessible to students across Canada, including underrepresented groups such as girls, Indigenous youth, newcomer youth and at-risk/underserved youth. The challenges will also provide regional equity by giving students in rural and remote areas opportunities to engage with companies that they may not otherwise have had access to.
Educators will be able to provide their students with an authentic learning experience by accessing a scalable project-based learning tool that matches in-class concepts and learning outcomes with real industry needs.
The Challenges enable businesses to benefit from fresh insight from the next generation. As students work on the projects, they learn about the industry and the companies themselves; and businesses can begin to foster a talent pipeline of young people who are just discovering their interests and potential.
For more information or to get involved, please contact ICTC at @email.
About ICTC
The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) is a not-for-profit national centre of expertise for the digital economy. Through forward-looking research, innovative capacity building programs, and practical policy advice, ICTC fosters innovative and globally competitive Canadian industries empowered by a talented and diverse digital workforce.
About Riipen
Riipen is a Canadian Talent Tech company specialized in scaling experiential learning opportunities for youth. Riipen’s cloud-based platform enables students, instructors and employers to connect, co-create, and track work-integrated learning at scale. The customizable, diverse types of experiences offered through Riipen allow youth from all backgrounds and geographies to connect with employers of all sizes authentically. Since 2017, the Riipen platform has been used to deliver over 25,000 work-integrated learning experiences to students.
With funding from
For media inquiries, please contact:
Stephanie Wilson, Senior Director, Digital Transformation & Strategic Outreach
Tel: 613-237-8551 extension 147
Email: @email
