Bridge Program
Building skills | Bridging opportunities | Breaking through
What is the Bridge Program?
Hack the Gap has created the Bridge Program to facilitate personal and professional growth for women, non-binary, and BIPoC groups. We are making an investment in our community, to build a more equitable world through facilitating economic opportunity through increasing technical acumen.
Our Model: We will pair our participants with projects, skills coaching, and professional mentorship. This is an opportunity to engage with young adults in the re-imaging and building process of our communities. By investing in them now, we can build a diverse pipeline of candidates who can be active participants in organizations and create change in our communities.
The first step is to get our participants access to those opportunities.
Our focus is on two main sectors: advanced technology and building information software. These are growing sector in tech but lack diversity. By creating opportunities for womxn, Black, Indigenous and people of color in these sectors, we can have a lasting impact in reshaping and reimagining our world as well as the technology ecosystem.
Advanced Technology - AR|VR|ML
The Bridge Program - Advanced Technology Focus provides opportunities to grow technical skills through projects while developing the acumen to be self-employed, start a business, or seek employment.
Our Focus: Our programming will offer high impact deep dives into advanced technologies including augmented reality, machine learning (PyTorch). Participants will learn the basics of these technologies with opportunities to participate in long term programs. We’ll apply this technology in general software development as well as in building information modeling software. Building these skills will put participants at the forefront of advanced technology and prepare them for future careers.
Building Information Modeling Software Focus
The Bridge Program - BIM Focus provides opportunities to grow technical skills through projects while developing the acumen to be self-employed, start a business, or seek employment.
Did you know that Black women architects represent only .2% of the industry?
Only 3% are Black and 1% are Hispanic or Latinx.
- According to Architect Magazine & Curbed
This is a problem. Increasingly, technology and software are used to plan, design and build physical spaces, outlines neighborhoods and manifest our world. Technology building information software is used to reimagine our communities. We want
Our Focus: Our programming will offer high impact deep dives into building information modeling software. Participants will learn SketchUp and Revit during the beginner program with the option to join a longer term SketchUp and Revit essentials program. This program will focus on re-imagining community spaces through architecture and construction technology.
This program is for adults over 18 who are underrepresented in the technology and engineering industries including individuals who identify as women, black indigenous, and/or persons of color.
Our Mentors: We are working architects and engineers of color to provide guidance and mentorship to participants.
Why sponsor the Bridge Program?
By sponsoring Hack the Gap, you are actively investing in the future of Minnesota. Your sponsorship will go towards providing programming. All contribution helps us provide access to quality, accessible programming and events to our community.
Sponsorships are currently open and will supporting current programming focused on engineering and building technology. Your sponsorship will go towards:
Providing the four week beginner programming to participants
Providing a long term technology and engineering essentials programming to participants
Supporting additional development and certificate opportunities
Re-imagining community spaces through advanced technology, construction and engineering technology
Curating professional development skills for participants
As a sponsor you will get:
Recruiting opportunities from our network and engage with participants
Submit projects for our participants to do some research and ideation
Assistance in community engagement efforts
Your logo and brand connected to the Bridge Program
I Want to Sponsor
We are grateful for sponsors! You are a huge part of what makes these events possible and it is a great way to get involved in the local community.
