University of Louisville unveils 'game-changing' partnership with IBM

Morgan Watkins
Courier Journal

The University of Louisville is teaming up with IBM to create a skills academy that will be the first of its kind in the nation and will teach students about growing digital fields like artificial intelligence.

U of L President Neeli Bendapudi, Mayor Greg Fischer and other public officials united Wednesday morning to announce the partnership, which they heralded as a game-changer that will help the university, the city and the commonwealth prepare and train Kentuckians to compete for and excel in the next generation of jobs.

"The future is not going to leave the good people of Kentucky behind," said Naguib Attia, vice president of global university programs at IBM. 

He noted that more than two million jobs will be needed for the AI field over the next few years alone. And Fischer suggested this partnership will boost the city's efforts to create more jobs in Louisville and to expand the amount of tech training people are receiving.

"If we're not integrating technology in everything we do ... we're missing the boat," Fischer said Wednesday.

The IBM Skills Academy is set to open this fall and will be housed in U of L's new Center for Digital Transformation, giving the school's students and faculty access to a curriculum and educational tools that are designed to train them in rapidly expanding areas like AI, blockchain, cybersecurity, data science and quantum computing.

Research will also be a big focus for the new academy.

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This is the first time IBM has partnered with an institution of higher education to launch an academy like this, Attia said. It plans to establish three others in the U.S. after opening the program in Louisville.

Bendapudi, who arrived at U of L in May 2018, began talking with IBM officials about bringing this initiative to the university after she went to a conference last year, where she learned about the work the company and Attia have been doing in places like Africa.

Attia said Wednesday that all they needed was to find a passionate leader to partner with, and they found that in her.

IBM will give U of L students and faculty access to software and cloud technology, as well as expertise from industry professionals and various other resources, that have an estimated value of as much as $5 million per year, according to the university. 

"But I would say the value of this relationship far exceeds that figure because when you have two great institutions (that) have an opportunity to work together, who can say where the potential lies?" Bendapudi said.

She emphasized that this academy is meant to educate students of every major who have an interest in learning more about technology.

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IBM will provide training for certain U of L faculty members in key areas, such as data science, cloud technology and cybersecurity, according to the university. Then, the faculty will help other people earn IBM digital credentials or college credit that will benefit them as they pursue high-tech careers.

Kentucky is one of the regions that is most susceptible to losing jobs to AI, Bendapudi said Wednesday. Through this partnership with IBM, she hopes U of L will become a resource for the broader community, helping to get people throughout the commonwealth ready for the next wave of high-tech jobs.

"We need this kind of support so that we can truly transform and be prepared for the workforce of the future," she said. "Do we just sit back and let things happen, or are we going to say, 'We see what's coming, and how can we be proactive?'"

Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/morganw.