Industry
Sports Sponsorships
TCS Sports Sponsorship: Where Technology Meets Sports
Highlights
- The TCS goIT Challenge fills gaps that more traditional sports sponsorship CSR activities leave open.
- goIT is TCS’ twist on the theme of sports sponsorship and CSR through which we focus on bringing digital innovation and career readiness opportunities to students under-represented in STEM careers.
- TCS innovation events put young people on stage, highlight their intelligence, and show them what they’re capable of.
On this page
Pitching dreams
Two days before more than 50,000 people crossed the finish line at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, dozens of local students assembled at the TCS NYC Marathon Finish Line Pavilion.
Divided into teams, they stood excitedly in front of a panel of technology and education experts gathered to judge the goIT Student Innovation Challenge. Inspired by their big dreams and hopes for the future, the students proudly pitched their imaginative ideas to the judges.
The goIT Challenge finalists presented their ideas on using technology to make our planet a better place. In the past years, students presented ideas for advancing access and inclusion in sports and for environmental sustainability. This year, they focused on health and well-being, an appropriate match to an event bringing running, peak performance, and good health into the spotlight.
Influencing youth
A technology competition with local students certainly isn’t what anyone would describe as a typical sports sponsorship activity.
But TCS doesn’t always do what’s typical. At events like these, we look to positively influence today’s youth and have a long-term impact on the world for generations to come.
The TCS goIT Challenge fills gaps that more traditional sports sponsorship CSR activities leave open. Sports sponsorships typically involve:
- employee volunteering,
- contributions to local charitable causes, and
- even scholarships for young athletes.
Don’t get me wrong, all of these are good things. TCS’ twist on the theme of sports sponsorship and CSR includes all of these. But we also focus on bringing digital innovation and career readiness opportunities to students under-represented in STEM careers.
Future leaders
Through goIT and its innovation competitions, students develop a sense of compassion and global citizenship while seeing themselves as we see them—future leaders.
These events put young people on stage, highlight their intelligence, and show them what they’re capable of.
Participating students at the 2023 goIT Student Innovation Challenge at the TCS New York City Marathon represented five area schools:
- Bretton Woods Elementary (Long Island)
- Clifton High School (NJ)
- John Adams Middle School (NJ)
- Patrick Henry Prep School (NYC – Manhattan), and
- South Bronx Academy for Applied Media M.S. (NYC – Bronx)
Creating EcoTrack
To prepare for the big event on November 3, the teachers implemented TCS’ industry-developed goIT curriculum in their classrooms.
It empowers educators so they can expand their students’ worldviews, problem-solving skills, and design-thinking capabilities.
The winning group of students came from John Adams Middle School in Edison, New Jersey. This team proposed EcoTrack, an app that would use a point-reward system to motivate users to reduce their carbon footprint. Its features include EcoMap, a GPS tool that suggests the shortest travel distance, and a carbon footprint calculator. A Leaderboard feature would allow users to compete for points for using green transportation such as biking, walking, or ridesharing. They were awarded the opportunity to hold the finish line tape for the TCS New York City Marathon’s women’s wheelchair champion.
All students who participated in the goIT Challenge at the 2023 TCS New York Marathon demonstrated curiosity, hope, and positivity. Ingenuity can create positive and lasting change. It also gave us a special moment in TCS New York City Marathon history and a vibrant portrait of optimism for the future.
