DETROIT – A two-day technology program invited 100 middle school students to get exposed to computer coding and application development in a fun competition at the Ford STEAM Hackathon held on March 27-28.

The kids worked in teams to create a vision for an application and then make it real for a chance to win money for their education or for their school. The event was hosted by the Ford STEAM Lab, an educational program with the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Experts predict that by 2022 there will be one million Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) jobs available. The Ford Fund wants to start building the talent pipeline early. The Fund believes the next generation needs to be engaged and exposed early to STEM. It also blends the ?arts? to STEM to create the STEAM Lab, an entrepreneurial approach for designing with technology.

The event also gained National media coverage with MSNBC capturing the event live as part of the ?Growing Hope Live from Detroit? broadcast. Notable guests included Senator Debbie Stabenow, Detroit Free Press Pultizer Prize winner Stephen Henderson, and Van Jones from #YesWeCode. #YesWeCode has a mission of training 100,000 people to become computer programmers. Other groups backing the event included the Level Playing Field Institute for STEM education from California and The National Dropout Center.

The Hackathon winning team was from Patrick Henry Middle School in Woodhaven, Michigan. They were awarded $15,000 for their school and earned a $2,500 scholarship each. The kids developed an app called ?Second School? where students, parents, and teachers can access curriculum away from the classroom to track progress in real-time. It allows for one-to-one communication between teachers and parents as needed or students-to-teachers.

Over $40,000 was given to other winners from Clippert Academy, Simpson Middle School, and Fisher Uppers. Ford and the United Auto Workers joined forces to provide every student a free week-long app development camp held at Henry Ford Community College in the summer.

It?s no surprise that behind this great effort at the STEAM Lab is Shawn Wilson. He serves as a leader for community engagement at the Fund and has a career dedicated to giving back.

Shawn looked at the crowd of students and volunteers and said: ?This is such a diverse make up of students. That needs to represent our workforce in the future.?

Detroit proudly had representation with volunteers from local STEM organizations including Grand Circus and Sisters Code. Chioke Mose-Telesford serves as the Director for Community programs for Grand Circus, which is an organization revolving around many aspects of technology. She believes all people need a baseline of technology no matter what you do in life. She has been involved with programs that work with high school students to teach them fundamentals of coding. It is clear that youth today have a variety of careers in technology awaiting them in the future, she said.

Mose-Telesford said she was ?excited to be a part of this event. It says a lot about the STEAM lab originating out of Detroit. It is aligned with a vision many of us have to build more tech talent in the region, for the region.?

Sisters Code has historically been able to help many women retool into technology careers as the automotive industry has changed over time. Sisters Code also realized quickly the power of starting to train young people in technology. They continue to impact events like Hackathon as volunteers and run local technical training programs for many women of many ages.

The event really sparked something in the young minds of these boys and girls at the Ford Resource and Engagement Center. Many were engaged and learned with volunteers guiding them with processes along the way. Big Sean also took a break from his Japanese tour to Skype the kids and talk about how important the Internet has been to his career and what it will mean for them in the future.

Niasha T. is a 13-year-old girl who was on the team that developed the app idea for ?Exstatic.? This was an app that combines learning, music, and math on a creative gaming platform. She sported a big smile at the event as her team discussed ideas and checked out other apps already on the market.

?This event is so awesome,? she said. ?In movies you see people doing these kinds of things, but this makes it real.?

Her team came in fourth place and won $2500 for her school.

The Fund is a philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company that invests more than $8 million each year for scholarships and educational initiatives that changed lives at the Hackathon in Detroit.

Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works with community and global partners to advance driving safety, education and community life.

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Associate Editor Nicole Johnson leads MITechNews.Com?s efforts to foster STEM education, as well as provides coverage for her fellow women in computing. If you have a story idea for Nicole, email [email protected] Follow Nicole on Twitter: @tech_nicole