Revitalizing the future of science & technology…
Creating an innovative national and global paradigm…
One child at a time

Harlem Children Society Annual Summer Internship Program 2008 Induction Ceremony

New York, NY – On Tuesday, July 1st, 2008, at 12.30 PM, Harlem Children Society (HCS) will be inducting over 600 high school and undergraduate students into its premier Science, Engineering, Mathematics & Bio/Medical Internship Program in a ceremony at the Uris Auditorium (1300 York Avenue between 68th & 69th streets) of Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. The inductees, primarily high school students, are all from extremely impoverished and under-served backgrounds; 95% of whom are minorities, and over 58% are young women. The event will open with entertainment by Cirkulock, a premier street dance circus from NYC. In a demonstration of virtual global unity, it will feature simultaneous LIVE video conferencing with HCS sister sites in the Hopi reservation in Arizona, Mexico, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, India and New Zealand. Various local leaders and dignitaries, including ministers of education, science and technologies, government heads, & diplomats, will be guests in respective sister site locations for the simulcast ceremony. Special guests attending the program in NYC will feature NYC Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, NYC School Chancellor Joel Klein, and the American Indian Science & Engineering Society President, Mr. Andrew Duff. The program will also feature student presentations from NYC, the Hopi reservation in Arizona, and Meru, Kenya.

Harlem Children Society was founded by Dr. Sat Bhattacharya, Molecular Geneticist and Cancer Research Scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, as a local grass-root, yet global non-profit organization in 2000 in order to give under-resourced and under-served, yet highly motivated high school and university students the chance to develop, hone and harness their skills to ultimately better serve their individual communities. Serving students ridden by abject poverty in the NY region, across the country and increasingly applying its model globally, HCS implements lessons learned from our experience with the NYC school system in its innovative program. It engages students in one-on-one hands-on science research in a myriad of fields in science, technology, math & engineering with accomplished mentors in leading universities, hospitals, research centers, and internationally renowned institutions.

To further enhance students’ intensive training program, HCS conducts weekly workshops & a lecture series. Students are exposed to a variety of experts (educators from UNESCO & UNICEF, Nobel laureates, leading scientists, engineers and doctors from a variety of fields and disciplines) invited to speak about their respective professions, illuminating and providing insight into important current issues. Students are also required to present their individual projects during the weekly series, employing sophisticated power point presentations to demonstrate their progress in their laboratories. HCS also organizes satellite meetings with other HCS remotely, webcasting live throughout the US and beyond.

HCS’s intensive summer program culminates in students submitting research papers on their respective work, and subsequently presenting their work in various forums, including conferences, meetings, symposia, and our "Annual International Harlem Science Street Fair & Festival” poster competitions. Perhaps the jewel in the crown of HCS’ progressive programs, this unique global event connects countries in real time via web casting, as students share their research directly in a public forum, local village or community. The goal is to share the spirit of scientific enquiry, art, culture and the celebration of the human spirit across the time, continental and digital divide.

HCS’s redressing of educational and career access in the sciences thus far in America show that 100% of HCS students attend college, 80% majoring in science and math, and over 20% of whom have been inducted into Ivy League schools. Students have received numerous awards and scholarships from the Posse Foundation, the Gates Millennium Scholarship, the New York Times Scholarship Fund and other prestigious institutions. Further, HCS’s innovative program increases recruitment; retention, advancement and nurturing of budding scientists and engineers from otherwise neglected populations. In a time when people are losing interest in science, engineering, and technology careers, HCS hopes to revitalize these fields with some of our most gifted youth from such communities.

The goal of the organization is "Glocal" and trans-disciplinary in nature, creating a unique paradigm using a hands-on approach towards the scientific learning process. It encourages, promotes and helps transcend boundaries between the disciplines and blaze new trails in the analysis of the relationships between society and science in a unique blend of social entrepreneurship! This obviously encourages a dialogue about new socio-cultural, political and economic issues, ultimately translating to global sustainability and peace.