IBM Invests $100 Million In HBCUs
It’s a beautiful time for rising Black students heading off to historically Black colleges and universities — especially if they’re into pursuing a career in technology. Tech company IBM unveiled last Thursday (Sept 17) that they’re investing $100 million to education initiatives at HBCUs around the United States for people that are interested in one of tech’s many rising fields.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that this move involves specific partnerships that include three HBCUs located in Georgia: Clark Atlanta University, Albany State University, and Morehouse College. In total, there are 13 HBCUs that are involved in what’s being called the IBM-HBCU Quantum Center. This investment is “designed to prepare and develop students for the quantum cloud computing future through research opportunities, curriculum development, and special projects.”
Additionally, Clark Atlanta is set to be a part of the Skills Academy Academic Initiative in Global University Programs. This is a multi-year program with learning areas in “artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, blockchain, design thinking, and quantum computing.”
Carla Grant Pickens, the Chief Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer at IBM, explained in a statement how important that diversity and inclusion are for the future of tech. “We believe that in order to expand opportunities for diverse populations, we need a diverse talent pipeline of the next generation of tech leaders from HBCUs,” she said.
“Diversity and inclusion is what fuels innovation and students from HBCUs will be positioned to play a significant part of what will drive innovations for the future like quantum computing, cloud and artificial intelligence,” she continued.
Other HBCUs that are set to take part in the initiative are Coppin State University, Howard University, Morgan State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Texas Southern University, Southern University, Virginia Union University, University of the Virgin Islands, and Xavier University of Louisiana.
