Technology has enormous relevance in today’s economy, but its workforce does not reflect the diversity of America. SEO Tech Developer was founded as a virtual intensive, free immersion programme to propel first-year and sophomore Black, Latinx, and Native American computer science and software engineering college students to the next level, ensuring they’re prepared to effectively compete for internships in the tech world. The Hg Foundation is the seed-funder of the programme and has been heavily involved in its development, which draws on SEO’s 60+ years of experience of running programmes in education and other competitive professional sectors, such as law and finance.

Tech Developer is centred around a six-week virtual summer residency, which includes 300+ hours of technical and soft-skills training. Participants also have exclusive access to tech internships through SEO’s partner employers. The programme focuses on experiential learning, team and project-based work, along with sustained exposure to tech industry professionals and educators through curriculum delivery, seminars and mentorship.

The Foundation seed funded the programme with their first grant in 2021 and during this first phase of support, 238 students took part. The Foundation’s second commitment in 2024 will enable the programme to double in size, reaching 500 students over a three-year period, as well as growing a new First Year Academy initiative to build the pipeline of students interested in and equipped with the tech skills to participate in the main programme.