Higher Education

Officials at the University of Texas Permian Basin created a robot with a 360-degree camera that can act as a conduit through which remote students can tune in to lectures and interact with classmates.

Major tech companies are working with the American Association of Community Colleges to strengthen AI programming in institutions across the country by offering funds to build labs and develop courses.

Newark has a new student service center through Gateway U, which is not itself an accredited college but gets online faculty, curriculum and other academic resources from the Southern New Hampshire University.

The nonprofit Center for Data Innovation praises a partnership between the University of Florida and tech company NVIDIA as a model for other institutions to develop AI research and education.

The STEPs4GROWTH program at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, funded by the American Rescue Plan, will train workers in 16 counties across the state to qualify for clean energy sector jobs.

As part of the Verizon Skill Forward initiative, a nonprofit will offer free online training in both technical and soft skills at Kingsborough, LaGuardia and the Borough of Manhattan community colleges.

The tide shifting toward remote work and learning seems unlikely to turn back, but fret not: properly deployed and administered cloud environments can help students and staff be safe and productive from home.

The first class of the new BlueSky Tennessee Institute are pursuing bachelor's degrees in computer science from East Tennessee State University, but their classes and training will all be in Chattanooga.

Both K-12 and higher education expect to see interest in online full-time and part-time options grow in the long term. Some view hybrid learning as a way to mitigate the negative effects of online-only instruction.

An early college program that allows high schoolers to earn associate’s degrees concurrently with their diplomas has seen success in Colorado, fast-tracking students for careers in IT, cybersecurity and other fields.

Institutions such as Clark State College, Wittenberg University and Global Impact STEAM Academy have worked with nonprofits and businesses to design programs to address regional workforce needs.

Video interviewing technology can use AI, computer vision and voice analytics to screen college applicants for soft skills such as professionalism and communication skills, but concerns about algorithmic bias remain.

Higher ed’s complex array of systems creates a large attack surface, and institutions are likely to pay ransom. Meanwhile, K-12 schools struggle with cyber staffing but more often resist extortion, a global report finds.  

With $280 billion for high-tech research and semiconductor manufacturing, among other things, the CHIPS and Science Act could boost university programs in microelectronics, smart manufacturing and industrial engineering.

With over 60 plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles on the market, a new degree program at the university will teach students about design controls and operating characteristics so they can do maintenance and repairs.

Several institutions in Western New York are partnering with other colleges and universities to expand access to online and in-person degree programs in fields such as cybersecurity, digital media and digital forensics.

The university has teamed up with four local community libraries to establish Chromebook lending programs and shrink the digital divide as telework and online learning continue to boost demand for devices.

The U.S. Senate recently passed a technology and science bill that would benefit research into clean energy, energy efficiency, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and quantum sciences.