Banco Santander and MIT Professional Education launch 400 international digital skills training scholarships

Digital technology is revolutionizing how we deal with problems such as cybersecurity and the digital economy. Its impact on society has a positive effect on young people with skills in this field.

And this is why Banco Santander has launched 400 Santander Scholarships Tech | Emerging Technologies Programs by MIT Professional Education. This program is part of the more than 1,500 Santander Scholarships #InvestInYou for undergraduates and young professionals and aims to provide them with the solutions and tools they need to boost their job prospects.

These scholarships, launched in collaboration with MIT Professional Education, address the challenge of improving the employability of young people in a job market that is increasingly dominated by digital technologies. They are for students, graduates, and professionals aged 20 to 35 from 13 countries (Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, USA, and Uruguay) and 50% will be for women.

They are emerging digital technologies training scholarships divided into four programs: Blockchain, Machine Learning, Cloud & DevOps, and product design strategies. They will be 100% online, last eight weeks, and can be taken in English, Spanish or Portuguese. Applications can be submitted until 30 December at www.becas-santander.com.

The aim is for participants to acquire the emerging digital technology know-how they require to improve their work skills. The four programs that make up these scholarships are focused on:

Blockchain: Technological Disruption: find out about the origin of blockchain, how it impacts its own field and other industries, master the basics of this technology to understand how it works and gain an understanding of its versatility beyond finance and cryptocurrencies.

Machine Learning: Technology applied to decision-making: understand the four stages of Machine Learning (data analysis, prediction models, decision-making, and causal inference), learning the basic characteristics of datasets, and becoming familiar with the handling of effective statistical tools to identify and classify them.

Cloud & DevOps: Continuous Transformation shows the origins and future of cloud computing and how it will shape new technological developments and the business world. They will be able to experiment with the key tools behind the design of effective software, find out about methodologies and opportunities for automation in the development of new products, and to implement security measures in the design of software.

Designing Product Families: From Strategy to Implementation: learn how product architecture, platforms, and commonality can help an organization deploy and manage a family of products in an increasingly competitive environment. This program looks at the intersection of design, market dynamics, strategy, R&D, and manufacturing in complex ways that determine the long-term success and survival of firms.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterized by automation and digital transformation, is rendering the skills of many workers obsolete and revealing a growing demand for new skills associated with emerging technologies. The aim of this new collaboration with the MIT Professional Education is to ensure that university students and young professionals have an excellent opportunity to immerse themselves in this reality and be in a better position to develop professionally”, says José Manuel de la Chica, CTO Santander Universities.

“The shortage of people with skills in digital technology both in the EU and Ibero-America means that thousands of job openings requiring digital training will remain unfilled. Our mission is to provide MIT’s knowledge and experience to professionals globally in order for them to develop the necessary skills to participate and lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution vigorously,” stated Bhaskar Pant, Executive Director of MIT Professional Education.

Following the success of the 2,500 Santander Scholarships for MIT Leading Digital Transformation invitation for applications launched at the start of the year with the aim of boosting the job prospects of young people, both institutions are further illustrating their commitment to digital skills training with this latest scholarships program.

This initiative is part of Banco Santander's EUR 100 million global support plan for tackling COVID-19 and the pandemic's negative effects. For education alone, the bank has earmarked EUR 30 million through Santander Universities to promote research projects into the development of vaccines and medicines, provide support for students experiencing economic difficulties and work on progressing the university system's digital transition. 

Read more at the source: Banco Santander