UofL, IBM partnership prepares next-generation workforce

The University of Louisville and IBM announced a partnershipthat includes the establishment of an IBM Skills Academy focused on digitallearning and technology skills. It will be housed in the newly-created Centerfor Digital Transformation in the Miller Information Technology Center on theBelknap Campus and will open by the start of the fall semester.

Specifically, the academy will provide curriculum andeducational tools concentrated on eight fast-growing technology areas:artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, cybersecurity, cloud computing,internet of things, quantum computing, data science and design thinking.

Through IBM’s existing Academic Initiative, IBM will makeavailable software and cloud technology with an estimated value up to $5-milliona year.

“But the value of this far exceeds that figure. When youhave two great institutions working together, who can say where the opportunitylies?” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi, who made the partnership happenalong with Naguib Attia, IBM’s vice president of Global University Programs,after the two met recently at an event.

This skills academy is the first of its kind that IBM hasdeveloped with a higher education institute. The company is in discussions withfour universities to open similar academies in the United States. Attia saidthe initiative is starting here because of Bendapudi’s “passionate leadership.”

“When I heard about IBM’s vision to try and bridge thedigital divide, I knew we had to work quickly,” Bendapudi said. “It isimportant for us to be nimble with this, to be truly transformative, to say,‘We see what’s coming, how can we be proactive?’ I am extremely grateful toIBM.”

Bendapudi said students will benefit from the academythrough course credit and IBM certification, while faculty will be trained onskills curriculum to then be able to teach colleagues and students. But thebenefits are expected to extend well beyond UofL’s campus, as trained facultywill also serve as workforce development agents for the community.

Attia said over 120-million jobs will be affected within thenext three years by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Indeed, the share of jobs requiring AI skills has grown 4.5times since 2013. Global spending on blockchain solutions in 2018 equated to$2.1-billion and is expected to grow to $20-billion by 2024. Meanwhile, theglobal cybersecurity market, currently valued around $120-billion, is expectedto jump to over $300-billion by 2024.

“These skills are the most critical issue of our time andthe south has the highest number of employees without an education beyond highschool,” Attia said. “If we don’t work to close this gap, it could have anegative impact on millions of people.”

Because of the pervasiveness of these emerging technologiesand the speed at which they’re evolving, Attia noted that such skills trainingwill be available for all students, regardless of their area of study.

“The future is not going to leave the good people ofKentucky behind,” he said.

City, state leaders react to announcement

Underscoring the impact this announcement has locally andstate wide, a press conference was attended by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer,Congressman John Yarmuth, Terry Gill, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet forEconomic Development, and – via video – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“I attend a lot of events where I can say ‘this is a greatday for Louisville.’ But with this announcement, I can say this is an importantday for Louisville; this is a critical day for Louisville,” Yarmuth said. “Theworld is changing at 100 miles an hour and this initiative will deal withissues of the future, including the benefits and challenges of technologicalchange.”

Mayor Greg Fischer added that the academy will help build onthe city of Louisville’s employment growth trajectory from the past eight years– about 80,000 new jobs – noting that nearly every new position includes sometechnology skill requirement.

“Our goal is to quintuple the amount of employees receivingtechnology training every year and this (partnership) is exactly what we’retalking about,” Fischer said. “If we’re not integrating technology ineverything we do, we’re really missing the boat.