Infosys Foundation USA Crossroads 2017 Conference: Notes and Impressions

Now in its third year, the Infosys Foundation USA Crossroads conference is a thought leadership conference focused on increasing access to high quality, computing science and maker education with a focus on underrepresented groups. The conference is organized by Infosys Foundation USA, the philanthropic arm of Infosys in the United States. Infosys is a $10 billion IT company based in India with offices in 50 countries. Infosys is one of India’s largest multinational companies, and they are are a major tech concern globally. Their foundation works in the U.S. to bridge the digital divide and build opportunities for greater participation and diversity in computer science and technology careers. Though, for many here in America, they may not yet a household name, those of us involved in K-12 computer science and maker education will be familiar with the organizations and initiatives they help support including Code.org, the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), Girls Who Code, and #YesWeCode.

Crossroads 2017 was held at San Francisco’s Moscone West conference center, simultaneously with Confluence, a much larger corporate event put on by Infosys. In the next several posts, I’ll relate some of the high points of the conference to the best of my ability and memory.

• Opening Night
• "From Consumers to Creators"
• "Makerspaces – Hands-On Creativity to Design and Invent"
• "Decoding Diversity"
• "Creating A Flourishing Maker Ecosystem"
• "What's Next? Future Steps in the CS Education Movement"
• "CS in Your State 1"
• "CS in Your State 2"
• Dinner Gala and Keynotes

Note from editor:
This blog was originally published on Kids Code Mississippi’s web site. A special thank you to the author, Randy Lynn, for permitting the re-post of his blog to the Foundation's web site.