The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $30 million loan for Uruguay that will support Ceibal's work to reduce gender and socioeconomic gaps in skills related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The "Generation D: developing digital skills with equity in the knowledge era" program aims to expand access to teaching resources and improve teaching work with the integration of technology and innovation and reduce gaps in access to computational thinking in primary education.

The loan will allocate funds to bring Ceibal's Computational Thinking Program to groups from the fourth to the sixth level of primary education in urban schools through videoconferences. The initiative will also renew the computers for basic secondary education students to adapt them to the needs of that cycle.

In addition, the loan will finance new teacher training courses in the area of ​​innovation in teaching with technology and will strengthen the "Global Learning Network" and the Ceilab Program (Espacio Makers).

Finally, the efforts will include the development of an instrument to improve the measurement of the computational thinking skills of Uruguayan students.

Studies show that early exposure to computational thinking is associated with higher development of girls and other underrepresented groups in STEM fields, higher enrollment rates in higher education, access to higher wages, and likelihood to be employed.

In the last decade, the IDB has accompanied the Uruguayan education sector with various operations, and this program constitutes the third loan for Ceibal. The US$30 million financing has a 25-year repayment term and a 5.5-year grace period.