What is Intel SFI?
As early as 20 years ago, Intel USA launched a supplementary Education Initiative to provide students (and teachers) with more digital skills. The increasing digitalization of society and the world of work already requires and promotes completely new competencies and skills for the employees and self-employed of the future. Intel calls this initiative “Skills for Innovation”, or SFI for short – or Innovative Skills Initiative. Through the SFI initiative, 70 high-quality SFI Education packages are available free of charge to interested teachers – an offer that has now been used by more than 15 million teachers in over 70 countries.
The Education Packages train three key thinking methods and skills in digitization:
- Design Thinking. Here, an inspirational, creative atmosphere is created in the team for product development. “Out-of-the-box” ideas face the real demands of the market through rapid prototyping and are continuously improved – or discarded.
- Informatic problem solving. This describes a different analytical way to discuss and solve problems. The first step is to abstract in order to be able to fall back on computer-solvable algorithms. After the computer-assisted solution, if any, the result must be transposed back to the original problem.
- Media competence. The consumption of various media, such as streaming, TV, podcasts and, not least, social media, requires reflective and competent handling. The knowledge of so-called “deep fakes” and “amplifying algorithms” alone enables students to deal with them appropriately, with correct evaluation and responsibility.
The Education packages are categorized not only in terms of subject matter, but also in terms of age and grade level:
- Elementary
- Intermediate
- High school
The 70 SFI lesson packets are broken down by developed – consisting of:
- Teacher’s Guide:
with learning objectives, lesson outline, practice activities, troubleshooting tips. - Classroom presentation slides:
with introduction, specific practice instructions, accompanying learning materials, discussion prompts, reflection - Working materials:
worksheets, installation instructions, software with instructions, sample data.
Concept International supports the SFI Initiative as a wholesaler for SFI Experience Packs
Some SFI Education packages require – in addition to a laptop – other equipment or hardware. This may include 3D printers, video cameras, or other items. It is the student:s use of these products that connects practice to learning, allowing for sustained learning and experience in a field. These “SFI Experience Packs” can be purchased as coordinated complete packages with appropriate instruction from IT systems integrators at Concept International.
