In 2022, Break Through Tech launched a new affiliate site at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami as part of an initiative led by Pivotal Ventures.
As a part of our mission to build a more equitable tech ecosystem, Miami’s diversity, size, and geographic location make it a powerful player in this push.
Florida International University serves a diverse student body of more than 58,000 and is a Top 50 public research university.
South Florida has the nation's second-least diverse tech workforce when analyzed by gender. CBRE reports that less than a quarter (23%) of the region's tech workforce consists of women. A major goal of our project is to increase the employment levels of women in technology.
The Break Through Tech Computing Program is focused on casting a wide net to encourage students to enter the tech academic pipeline and ensuring that they feel empowered and prepared as they move through their academic journey and launch their tech careers.
Programming begins with the Break Through Tech Guild workshops for incoming students who are considering the study of a tech discipline at one of our partner universities and continues with our innovative Sprinternship™ program that gives students the resume credential they need to compete for summer internships.
Students can engage in a series of career readiness programs that help them get their foot in the door of the tech workforce as well as a variety of community building opportunities with their peers and professional women in tech.
Our diverse population at FIU positions us to have direct impact at the intersections of race and gender as 72% of our women self-identify as an underrepresented minority (e.g., Black, Latinx, or two or more races). This presents a unique opportunity to have a high impact on underrepresented women in our community, their families, and perhaps generations.
Interested in working with us in Miami?
For more information, contact Mark Weiss at weiss@fiu.edu