The program SocialComp, from Unicamp's Computing Institute (IC), collected another 42 pieces of equipment for the digital inclusion of students. The last donation was made by the daughter company of Sofist University, which allocated 16 desktop computers, 17 notebooks and nine monitors. With the new delivery, the initiative has already collected more than 500 pieces of equipment, which are directed to Unicamp's Digital Inclusion Program (PIDIU) and the Solidarity Equipment campaign. CompSocial, in addition, is raising funds that will be transformed into scholarships for incoming Engineering and Computer Science students at IC.
Both fronts aim to serve students in situations of social vulnerability. In terms of collecting equipment, the creator of the program and director of IC, professor Anderson Rocha, says that the campaign was created to help maintain constant mobilization for donations at Unicamp. “The CompSocial campaign emerged at the beginning of this year because we saw that there was a slowdown in donations compared to last year. We are looking for the PRG [Dean of Undergraduate Studies] and DEDH [Executive Directorate of Human Rights] to support them in this regard. We launched the campaign, which was embraced by the community.”
To date, donations have been made by the daughter companies of Unicamp Matera (30 notebooks) and Sofist (42 pieces of equipment, including desktops, notebooks and monitors) and by the Regional Labor Court of Campinas (250 desktops and 100 notebooks). Donations made by individuals reached 100 pieces of equipment. Cash donations were used to purchase 16 tablets.
Geovana Pavanelli, from Sofist, says that the company decided to donate as soon as it found out about the initiative. “We were born in the university's business incubator and when we found out about the CompSocial action we decided that we would contribute to the fundraising. We are donating notebooks, CPUS and monitors to support the cause, the university and vulnerable students who will certainly benefit. Actions like this are extremely important and we hope that more companies can participate.”
Adding forces to meet demand
Once collected, donations are sponsored by the General Administration Directorate (DGA), which forwards them for distribution via PIDIU and the Solidarity Equipment campaign. Delivery to students takes place through a loan system and according to a priority list, according to which priority is given to those in situations of social vulnerability. The IC participates as a partner in the University's effort for digital inclusion, through the CompSocial campaign.
“For the University, there is a very large demand. We estimate that there are 15% of students in a situation of social vulnerability, which for the universe of students is a high number. We are paying attention to these students and that is why there are several campaigns at the moment to reduce this problem”, says Anderson.
According to the professor, it is essential to look at the students’ conditions of stay. “For some the biggest problem is access to equipment, for others it is a suitable environment at home, for another it may be finding a time. In the case of students who do not have equipment, the CompSocial campaign and Unicamp's digital inclusion program tackle this problem, trying to provide the minimum necessary conditions to access activities”.
Program raises funds for scholarships
The CompSocial program, in addition to receiving donations of equipment and intended for the purchase of equipment, is also raising funds for scholarships. This support, according to Professor Anderson Rocha, will be to support students in the first months of the courses, until they have time to request assistance from Unicamp's Student Support Service (SAE), which has a broad student retention program. The idea is to allocate scholarships to around 15 students, when in-person activities return.
“We created the program in which former Computing students, or donors in general, help us so that we can obtain scholarships for at least 10, 15 students in socially vulnerable situations who entered the course and who would not be able to stay in Campinas. We created the fund to help them for at least four months”, he explains. The scholarships will be worth approximately R$1.
Find out how to help
To help the CompSocial program, visit the initiative's website (compsocial.ic.unicamp.br) and choose the form of donation. Donations can be made by individuals or legal entities, in cash or equipment. To request equipment, students must access the loan registration and tracking system (inclusaodigital.ic.unicamp.br) and forward the request.
The initiative, says Anderson, is only possible because it is embraced by several Unicamp teachers and employees on a voluntary basis. "We have had strong support from DEDH (Josianne Cerasoli and Sônia Seixas, SAE (Cibele Papa, Elaine Barbosa and Helena Altman), PRG (Daniel Sevillano and Mara Patrícia Mikahil) and DGA employees in heritage (Osmar Almeida, Giovani Pereira, Éder Menezes and Danilo Zanetti), IC/Unicamp with the campaign and software programming (Mauro Escobar, William Reiznault), and with the leadership of collecting and preparing the equipment (Dora Grassi, Sandra Guerreiro, Priscila Silva, Andréa Aparecida Costa, Ana Lúcia Siqueira , Silvério Freire, Henrique Boaro and Thiago Nobre)".
