posted by Gail Dundas on October 31, 2008
“Everything you do makes a difference” is a quote from Philippe Cousteau, who brightened an already great day considerably last week in Washington, D.C. He is the grandson of legendary explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau. Philippe is the co-founder and CEO of Earth Echo International, a remarkable (and really cool) non-profit whose mission is “to use media and experiences to empower people to use the resources that can restore and protect Earth’s ocean and freshwater systems.” With the same vision of how experiences can impact and shape global issues - from the environment to education - Philippe was very willing to be a part of the Inspire community and share not only what inspires him - but also what he tells young people all over the world about how with every choice they make they are making an impact - and they get to choose whether or not that impact is positive. He was a keynote speaker at last year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and received rave reviews! Check out his video here - and a huge thanks Philippe!
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tagged: CSR blogs, Earth Echo International, education, Education programs, Inspire, Intel, Intel education, Intel ISEF, Intel Science Fair, Philippe Cousteau
posted by Will Swope on October 28, 2008
Last night Intel was proud to receive the Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We were given the award as a result of our multi-year commitment to purchase more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy certificates, making Intel the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the United States. As a result of this commitment, about 47% of Intel’s purchased electricity usage will come from renewable sources such as wind and solar. The EPA estimates that our commitment is equivalent to taking more than 185,000 cars off the road or the annual electricity usage of more than 130,000 American homes. Marty Sedler of Intel’s Technology Manufacturing Group was there to accept the award for Intel, and has been a leader of the renewable energy effort at Intel. I want to congratulate Marty and the entire Intel team for making this a reality.
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tagged: carbon reduction, CSR, energy savings, EPA, Global eSustainability Initiative, Green Power, Intel Core, renewable energy, Smart 2020, solar, sustainability
posted by Gail Dundas on October 28, 2008
View imageOn Friday, San Jose State University’s Department of Television, Radio, Film and Theatre was kind enough to invite us to a play directed by Professor Buddy Butler. (Buddy Butler was the university professor who inspired Omar Benson Miller to pursue acting - check out Omar’s video on the Share page.)
The play was based on a children’s fairytale story, “Puss ‘n Boots.” The young children had front row seating on “magic carpets,” and it was wonderful watching how engaged they were in the play. Definitely a creative way to inspire and introduce theater to young people! The actors/students really did a wonderful job transforming into these fairytale characters and getting the entire audience involved in the show. Bravo!
The audience consisted of students, staff and alumni - all there to support and to make sure opening night was a big success. It was especially true of one alumnus - Omar Benson Miller. Despite his busy schedule, with two new movies currently out in theaters-Miracle at St. Anna and The Express- it was important for him to come back to his alma mater to support this program . His attendance at the show and the reception afterward really demonstrated the power and importance of having someone inspirational in our lives. It is clear SJSU and Professor Buddy Butler had a huge positive impact on Omar’s life. And that night, we saw a group of new theater students who were inspired by Buddy, as well as Omar. Below are some photos from the event.
So inspiring. So what inspires you? Tell us on the Share page..
(The photo is Buddy Butler, Samantha Saephan from Intel’s PR firm, Burson-Marsteller, and Omar Benson Miller.)
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tagged: Buddy Butler, Film and Theatre, Inspire, Omar Benson Miller, Radio, San Jose State University Department of Television
posted by Julie Clugage on October 23, 2008
Intel had the opportunity to participate on October 20th in the US News & World Report Education Summit in Washington, DC, which focused on improving America’s secondary schools. My boss, Will Swope, Intel’s VP of Corporate Affairs, delivered introductory remarks and participated in the panel on public-private partnerships in education. It was a great event with lots of good discussion on the complex problem of improving quality in America’s schools. Will talked about Intel’s passion for education - we need brilliant minds to continue to drive our innovation pipeline, and we have been focused since our founding on education as the cornerstone of our corporate social responsibility efforts. We were also very excited to announce at the event our new $120M commitment 
extending our sponsorship of the two largest pre-collegiate science fairs in the world - the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and the Intel Science Talent Search.
The panel on public-private partnership was interesting in that the moderator, staying true to his job of keeping things interesting, asked a few questions about whether private involvement in schools amounted to “corporate takeover.” We explained our view of public-private partnership is that we support governments and educators in achieving their objectives which are part of their strategic plan, and we make sure to agree on clear goals, success measures and timelines. I was gratified to hear that we were in perfect agreement with the other panelists who represented educators and school boards. They pointed out that public private partnership must be long term and cited Intel as an example of a company whose commitment fits that description. They talked about that fact that we need “not only a knowledge-based economy, but a creative, innovative economy,” and explained how the private sector can help support the expansion from “school day” to “learning day,” where learning is not limited to the formal classroom. There was a lot of excitement about the potential of technology to facilitate this transformation. And the policy experts were grateful for the role the private sector can play in advocating for the tough changes that need to be made to improve the quality of American education - such as encouraging states to raise standards for high school graduation so that graduates will be truly prepared for college or work in a knowledge economy.
Lots to think about but I walked away convinced that the private sector has an important role to play in promoting quality education and grateful to be working for a company dedicated to making it happen!
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tagged: CSR, education, public-private partnerships
posted by Wendy Hawkins on October 20, 2008
Intel Foundation has just announced its largest single commitment in the 20 year history of the Foundation. With this, Intel Science Talent Search is funded through 2016 and the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair through 2019. These programs of the Society for Science & the Public offer tens of thousands of students in the US and around the world a chance to push on the boundaries of science and innovation in very real and important ways.
But how can it be a good idea, you might ask, for Intel to make such a financial commitment in the midst of such economic turmoil?? The short answer: How could we not??
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tagged: Education, Inspire, Intel Foundation, Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, Intel ISEF, Intel Science Talent Search, Intel STS, STEM Education
posted by Stephanie Kelly on October 17, 2008
Hello Everyone!
I’d like to begin my first blog with a little introduction. My name is Stephanie Kelly and I’m the technology integrationist at DeLay Middle School in Lewisville, TX. That means I run computer labs, provide professional development for teachers on how to better integrate technology into their lessons, general troubleshooting, webmastering, and whatever else I find to take up my day.
You’d be surprised how easy it is to stay busy here. Our teachers are extremely adventurous when it comes to technology. They are always willing to try new things and continue to learn daily. I have never worked with a better group of teachers. I truly believe that is a major reason we are an Intel School of Distinction. Our teachers take risks and it pays off big time with our students. The students know we love each and every one of them and we try new things to provide better opportunities for them. They are so appreciative of and receptive to our teachers every day.
I look forward to keeping you updated on the exciting things we do here at DeLay, and how we like the new programs and resources we are receiving from the wonderful Intel sponsors. I hope you’ll respond and share some of the great stuff you do at your school.
Until next time, Stephanie Kelly
posted by Gail Dundas on October 16, 2008
Welcome to the improved Inspiredbyeducation.com. We created this community for people who care about education, and who are inspired by education, to share their stories in an online forum to inspire others. We’ve been getting your heartwarming videos-and if you haven’t been here before, go see them - they are great! There’s Walter, a coordinator at an after-school program who finds inspiration in helping young people learn and succeed in school. And Brian, who credits his career choice to an English teacher who encouraged him to learn and taught him to appreciate languages. And there are many more really great videos to check out.
Personal stories are central to the human condition, they are how we pass along wisdom and knowledge, and in the case of the Inspire community, powerful reminders of the important role people play in enhancing and encouraging education.
A community is only as strong as its members, however, and listening is every bit as important as talking. We heard you. Freshen it up, keep it live, let’s have a conversation, you said. So we made the following changes, including
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tagged: education, Inspire, intel
posted by Will Swope on October 09, 2008
I participated in a panel on this exciting topic last weekend at the annual Science and Technology in Society Forum in Kyoto, Japan (in the same conference center that hosted the famous Kyoto climate negotiations in 1997). I am passionate about this topic because it’s the reason I have worked in technology for the past 40 years - the ability to improve people’s lives. My fellow panelists included the Chairman of NEC, the Executive VP of Toyota, the CEO of Infosys, and the Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal. We all talked about the transformative power of technology to connect individuals around the world. I focused my remarks on the ability of this connected technology to revolutionize education, healthcare and the environment - by changing the way people learn, get access to care, and conduct their daily business.
As with most of these conferences, the best part was the fascinating people I met. We had exciting conversations with foundations, universities and governments about how we can do more together to scale the technology pilots Intel is driving in healthcare, education and economic growth. And, in the category of random facts, did we know that the head of the research arm of the US Navy adopted our Intel Inside approach and required that anyone using the IP created by the department to build a product must have a sticker on it that says “powered by Navy research”? The head of the US Food and Drug Administration came up to me and said to say hello to Andy Grove next time I saw him.
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tagged: education, ICT, Intel, Science and Technology in Society, technology, Will Swope
posted by Manisha P Shah on October 09, 2008
…it seems like everyone’s trying to figure out how to make it happen. I spent one day last week at the Forbes Leadership Network Conference titled “America the Innovator”. As would be expected at an event in Silicon Valley, the crowd was a mix of tech company execs, VCs, start up CEOs and consultants…all looking for the holy grail of innovation while the economy plummeted in the backdrop.
For me, the most interesting speaker was John Kao, an “Innovation Strategist” and author. He spoke about traveling the world helping governments create innovation programs that helped grow talent and incubate ideas - from Singapore’s Biopolis that is plucking some of the best scientific talent from around the globe to conduct world class research to Finland’s University of Innovation that has brought together that country’s leading Technology, Economics and Design schools to fuel innovation.
Having lived in Silicon Valley for most of my life, I’m not sure how big government’s role in innovation should be. But there was one point I did agree with John on - to innovate you need to educate, especially in the areas of math and science. And this is an area where government does have an important role. This is something that Intel Chairman Craig Barrett often speaks about on Capitol Hill and as he did recently in this Business Week interview.
But I’m interested in hearing your thoughts, what should the role of government be in innovation (especially in light of an economic meltdown)?
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tagged: Craig Barrett, education, Forbes Leadership Network Conference, innovation, Intel, John Kao
posted by Revital Bitan on October 07, 2008
A pat on the back is never our main reason for doing good things but, as a CSR professional, it always feels good when our efforts are publicly recognized. So I was thrilled to learn just last week that Intel Corporation was recognized as the number one corporate philanthropist by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal for the second year in a row! The award recognizes Intel’s investment in education and the environment as well as the matching grants our employees generate through their volunteer activities and non-profit contributions. Now, that’s what I would call a spot-on description of “CSR the Intel way”.
Did you know that in 2007, Intel donated $5.15 million to Silicon Valley non-profits? I’m sure that made a real difference for some very worthy organizations, but it’s worth remembering that such hard-dollar donations are just one part of Intel’s contribution to the California community.
In addition to the Silicon Valley award mentioned above, Intel got a few other significant pats on the back in California this month. On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, Intel was cited by State Senator Elaine Alquist for our “vital role in improving the quality of life in California and around the world”. Intel also earned the “You Make it Happen” award for our support of the anti-graffiti and litter campaign education and action program in San Jose and received a special award for structuring an innovative financial mechanism that generated $2.5M for the district’s Teacher Mortgage Assistance Program.
“CSR the Intel way” works thanks to the thousands of Intel employees who take part in our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. These awards and citations just reinforce the value of the work our employees are doing in their communities on a daily basis. A pat on the back that gives credit where credit is due.
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tagged: corporate philanthropist, CSR, CSR awards
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