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TIE Learning in Action

An important component of Porter’s Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (TIE) curriculum is hands-on experiences with real-world companies, something that Director of the Institute of Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Sam Ahn notes is essential. “In TIE-related classes, we try to learn and keep up with technological advancements, innovations happening at a breakneck pace, and entrepreneurial endeavors, but this is an impossible thing to do sitting inside our classroom,” he says. “Our girls could learn about these things, but nothing compares to going out to companies, talking to experts — especially female professionals they can look up to — and experiencing how they can apply what they learned in school in solving real-world problems.”

Porter’s TIE institute recently formed a relationship with the Hartford office of Slalom Consulting, a business and technology consulting firm that helps companies build for the future with solutions that include business advisory, customer experience, technology, and analytics. Slalom approached Mr. Ahn about doing a collaborative project to solve their real-world problem — low numbers of female job applicants. “We worked [with Slalom] to solve this issue by tackling the problem of girls losing interest in technology in middle and high school years,” notes Mr. Ahn.
Twice during the month of November, TIE students visited Slalom. During their first visit the students were presented with the problem — girls losing interest in technology — and their goal was to find a solution. Jillian Krasusky ’22, one of the TIE students who participated in this project, explains, “We were given a persona (a middle school girl), and were told to think from her point of view.”

Students then brainstormed before narrowing their ideas down to one solution — a mobile app idea connecting young girls with female professionals for networking and mentoring opportunities. The second visit to Slalom allowed students to further develop the app, forming two teams to focus on the marketing and back-end coding.
Jillian shares that she learned essential skills through the experience. “[I learned] how important it is to empathize with [your] customer. If your product does not accurately solve [their] problem, then they won’t buy your product. I also learned when coming up with a solution to a problem, the more ideas you have, the better. Often what you thought was the craziest idea ends up being the best idea. Additionally, I learned many important marketing skills and how to effectively name [your product] (which may sound easy but is actually extremely difficult).”
Lena DiGenti of Slalom says that she found working with Porter’s students to be inspiring, and shares of the experience, “We were all completely blown away by the brilliance of the minds of the future.”
According to Mr. Ahn, the Porter’s/Slalom collaboration is ongoing. “We are in discussions to do a ‘16 in 16’ project in which we will take 16 girls to work with 16 local nonprofit organizations to create or update their website alongside Slalom employees,” he says.

Jillian is excited to continue the collaboration. As she explains, “Slalom is a fantastic company for Porter’s students to work with because of their commitment to ensuring that more middle and high school girls learn about STEM and obtain countless opportunities to expand their skills and knowledge.”

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