The UiPath Foundation, a non-governmental organization that supports access to quality education for children in vulnerable communities, announced the results of the programs implemented in 2021.

The foundation runs three main programs - the Future Acceleration Program for children ages 11-16, the Early Education Program, which focuses on early education, and the Nurture Teachers’ Potential, which aims to support teachers who work in disadvantaged communities.

"In 2021 we sought to learn from the experience of previous years and to adapt our intervention to the realities brought on by the pandemic in communities where access to education is like a race with obstacles. Despite the pandemic context and the restrictions in force, all our programs continued, capitalizing on the digital environment as an opportunity for access to quality education for vulnerable children in 6 areas of Romania (Bucharest - Ferentari neighbourhood, Cluj-Napoca, Vaslui, Galați, Botoșani, and Olt counties). We have expanded our interventions and included new beneficiaries in the programs, along with old and new partners, with whom we can do better and more for children facing poverty, with the percentage being currently estimated at almost 50% of the entire under 18 population in Romania. Digital inclusion has become an organizational priority and we have built contexts for the development of digital skills for all children, regardless of the social environment they come from,” says Raluca Negulescu-Balaci, Executive Director of the UiPath Foundation.

Through the Future Acceleration Program, children aged 11 to 16 in vulnerable communities in Romania and India benefit from an integrated support package to reduce the risk of dropping out of school and stimulate the long-term potential of children.

The full report about the programs implemented by the UiPath Foundation in 2021 can be read here.

In 2021, in Romania, the UiPath Foundation carried out this program together with the Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, Fundația Inimă de Copil, Asociația Bună ziua, Copii din România and Fundația Pro Patrimonio. In India, the program is being developed with the help of the Dream a Dream organization.

By the end of 2021, the UiPath Foundation supported 349 children from 6 communities, participating in 16,775 hours of online tutoring sessions and 3,065 hours of non-formal education. The foundation also offered over 12 tons of supplies (food, health products and clothes), and the children in the programs also benefited from over 300 ophthalmological, dental and nutrition consultations.

The UiPath Foundation, together with its strategic partner, Asociația OvidiuRO, provides access to quality early education to preschoolers in the vulnerable communities in which it intervenes, through the Early Education Forward program, to prevent the educational gap that children from vulnerable backgrounds are at risk of having. Teachers in these communities also benefit from training opportunities and support, while school spaces are equipped with quality educational resources.

During the program, in 2021, over 13,000 children from Botoșani, Galați and Vaslui counties received books and 85 kindergartens from these counties received 85 GrădiBiblioteci, and over 1,000 teachers participated in online training sessions. Also, during the summer, the little ones participated in 30 "Șotron" summer workshops, in order to stay connected to learning even on vacation.

The UiPath Foundation’s strategic partnership with Teach for Romania continued in 2021, through the Nurture Teacher’s Potential program, which supports teachers who work in vulnerable communities. Within this partnership, the foundation supports teachers enrolled in the Teach for Romania program and, in addition, these teachers benefit from micro-grants for the implementation of relevant and impactful projects in the communities in which they teach.

Another component of this partnership is "Teaching as Leadership", a project through which teachers from Bucharest, Galați, Vaslui, Botoșani and Cluj receive support through training sessions. In 2021, 46 teachers graduated from the program. Also, in 2021, the two organizations launched EDU START, the first tool for testing socio-emotional skills in students in a school context, a free tool for all teachers in Romania from primary to secondary school.

UiPath Foundation - Other actions

In 2021, the UiPath Foundation participated in the development of the first tool for standardized evaluation of digital literacy in the partnership initiated with Brio, an ed-tech platform for measuring educational performance, endorsed by the Ministry of Education and Research.

The foundation was also involved in mitigating the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The total contribution of the UiPAth Foundation, UiPath and the global community of UiPath employees was of over $1.2 million - an amount that covered the oxygen demand for about 250,000 hours. Two planes loaded with oxygen cylinders were sent to India for people severely affected by COVID-19.

In 2021, the Foundation continued the mentoring programs in Romania and India, which aim to inspire children and provide them with the opportunity to interact with people who can become role models in their lives, as well as the development of non-cognitive skills. Thus, 44 mentors supported the children in Romania to understand and reach their potential; In India, the mentoring program was conducted with the support of Dream a Dream, until June 2021, and involved 15 mentors.

The full report about the programs implemented by the UiPath Foundation in 2021 can be read here.