Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina is at the forefront of an impactful partnership with several other HBCUs. Recently, the school received a sizable grant to help give HBCU students more access to the data science field. Find out how those funds will be put to good use with the details from The Charlotte Post below.
Charlotte’s historically Black college will collaborate with five other HBCUs on an HBCU Data Science Consortium. They received a seed grant of $100,000 from the National Science Foundation funded South Big Data Innovation Hub for development and implementation of the consortium. JCSU assistant professor of computer science Felesia Stukes will work with faculty from Alabama A&M University, Bowie State University, Florida A&M University, Morehouse College and Norfolk State University.
An inaugural workshop titled “HBCU Data Science Consortium—Building Data Science Pillars” is scheduled to take place virtually Feb. 19-20.
“African American and Hispanic or Latino professionals are underrepresented in the field of data science,” Stukes said. “Johnson C. Smith University and several other HBCUs have been working to address this need by providing students across the nation with high-demand data skills. The HBCU Data Science Consortium is an exciting way to build a diverse community of practice that could help accelerate and expand our reach.”
The HBCU-DSC will serve as a space to inspire and expand on a culture of academic development and research collaborative opportunities by establishing a consortium of analytics researchers, scholars and industry partners. It is designed to allow for increased collaboration between HBCUs in terms of sharing data analysis tools, data and innovative ideas.
JCSU also announced earlier this month a partnership with Apple to become a community center for coding and creativity as part of Computer Science Education Week. It is part of the Apple community education and Tennessee State University HBCU C2 initiatives.
North Carolina HBCUs Shaw University and Saint Augustine’s University also joined the initiative.
