Program Aims to Shine Light on Stem Career Paths in the Music Industry

NEW YORK, NY – April 7, 2021 – Local New York City non-profit, STEM Kids NYC and Sony Music Entertainment (SME) today announced the launch of a new partnership, The STEM Kids NYC x Sony Music Leadership Program, created to promote diversity in the STEM field and provide visibility of the various STEM career paths in the music industry.

With an increase in demand for STEM roles throughout the music industry, the program’s mission is to equip students with foundational skills that inspire them to pursue a STEM career in music and provide an avenue to help lessen the gap in STEM education for diverse and underserved youth.

The eight-week program kicks off this week and will feature two sessions per week for 15 local New York City high school juniors and seniors, who are current members of STEM Kids NYC. Members of the program will learn how STEM serves a critical day-to-day function of the work-flows across sales, marketing and audience development departments at SME.

Commenting on the new partnership program, Yvonne Thevenot, M.Ed., Founder and Executive Director, STEM Kids NYC said, “The partnership with Sony Music is an exciting one indeed, and I’m thrilled that such a noteworthy company as Sony Music walks the talk in enabling youth to tap into learning current technologies that support the work of music artists we love, but also that help to prepare our youth for their futures in tech”.

“We are inspired by the work that STEM Kids NYC is doing to fill the curriculum gap in schools serving populations that are underrepresented and underserved in the STEM fields”, said Jeff Walker, Executive Vice President and Head, Business and Legal Affairs, Global Digital Business, Sony Music Entertainment. “This partnership was initiated as part of Sony Music’s ongoing commitment to racial and social justice which includes providing future music professionals with educational resources to succeed in next generation careers.”

Students will have an opportunity to learn a hybrid of computer science from STEM Kids NYC and real-world application from “mentors” on the SME Global Digital Business team. Program curriculum will include courses and education on sentiment analysis, data visualization, website design and development and virtual reality.

Canvs AI, the leading customer insights platform for text analytics, will offer gratis licenses for all of the students and Jared Feldman, Founder, CEO of Canvs AI will be a guest speaker during the sentiment analysis course. Students will also have access to members of the Sony Music Human Resources team and the Sony Music U college marketing department to learn more about career opportunities in the music business and receive advice on resume building and networking.

Related:
Sony Music Group Launches “Beyond the Instrument” Initiative to Develop Next Generation of Music Industry Leaders
Sony Music Germany Launch New Initiative With Turning Tables to Help Combat Social Exclusion Through Music

About STEM Kids NYC 
STEM Kids NYC is a 501(c)(3)  organization that provides a year-round, intensive suite of STEM education programs for PreK-12 scholars. Its core programs foster STEM skills development, an understanding of the importance of STEM as a way to solve major issues, and interest in STEM electives, majors, and careers. The teachers are educators, engineers, and computer/systems programmers, and seek to fill the education gap between urban schools curriculum and the immediate need for schools to produce talent that is prepped to work in the STEM fields. STEM Kids NYC builds skills to qualify students for future opportunities that will make them employable and reduce their risk of becoming impoverished, going to jail, or being shut out of the future jobs market.