[19
SEP 00] COVENTRY UNIVERSITY NEWS
Schools Benefit From Computer Gift
They
may be worlds apart, but Stoke Park school and a cluster of islands in
the Caribbean have both received a second-hand boost from Coventry
University.
More
than 100 redundant computers are being given away to help pupils get
to grips with Information Technology.
Stoke
Park school in Coventry will be given over 40 old machines, while
another 62 will be heading to the Caribbean island group of St Vincent
and the Grenadines.
The
Stoke Park donation was organised by Andy Larkin of the university's
Knowledge Engineering and Management Centre, working with Ivan Thomas,
Head of Physics at the school.
Mr
Thomas said:
"We
are really very pleased with this donation, which represents a
quantum leap in our computing provision.
"We
will use the computers across all our science areas to collect data
from experiments conducted by our students.
"They
will be connected to meters used during experiments to monitoring
things such as electrical current, heat and ph levels, which will
enable our students to gain experience of computerised data
storage"
The
idea for the donation of computers to the Caribbean came through the
Coventry branch of the Common Purpose organisation.
Linda
Grove-Evans of Coventry Common Purpose, the city branch of the
national independent charity which has 44 offices across Britain,
said:
"Common
Purpose exists to help break down barriers by creating links and
providing networking opportunities between the business community,
private sector, public sector and voluntary organisations.
"Locally
we are supported by major employers such as Jaguar, Peugeot and
Coventry University, whose managers attend our courses dealing with
different aspects of life in the city, such as health, education,
housing and crime and justice."
It
was as a result of such a link, established between Gill Holmes,
marketing manager at Coventry University, and Vibert Cornwall, head of
the Vincentian Association, the organisation which focuses on St
Vincent and the Grenadines, that the donation of computers came about.
Vibert,
who is also a member of the CARIBA project based in the city's West
Indian Community Centre, said:
"The
computers will be used in schools in St Vincent and the Grenadines
and will be much appreciated.
“Initiatives
like this not only help the young people using the equipment, but
also spread the word about the city of Coventry and its university.
"Who
knows, in years to come the young people benefiting from this
donation may become Coventry University students themselves."
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