Grants

Artificial Intelligence:

AI for All

The overall goal of Artificial Intelligence for All is the development of AI courses and an interdisciplinary certificate that will expose all college students to AI, while building capacity for the development of a four-year degree in applied AI. This project aims to serve the national interest by increasing community colleges’ capacity to attract and train students in AI.

Leadership team: Antonio Delgado MIS, (P.I.), Joseph A. Weathers (Co-P.I.),Sarah Rodriguez (Co-P.I.) and Diego Alvardo (Co-P.I.)

Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation is matching $7M in grants from Miami-Dade County and City of Miami to elevate the School of Engineering and Technology’s capacity in Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies. The funds will allow the School to add 15 new faculty, offer professional development to existing faculty and develop new courses and programs in these fields, including a bachelors and certificate in applied AI.

Downtown Development Authority

The focus of this grant is to build faculty capacity and expertise leading to the development and delivery of first-in class, industry-centered curriculum in Applied AI, create an AI Center at MDC’s Wolfson Campus, and develop pathways to local jobs. This initiative will allow to customize connections between new and existing companies located in Downtown Miami and local talent.

NATIONAL APPLIED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CONSORTIUM

The overall goal of the National Applied Artificial Intelligence Consortium (NAAIC) is to advance the education and training of a diverse and highly skilled technical workforce in the field of AI and prepare students for rewarding careers in AI-related fields. The project has the support of an expansive network of industry partners like Intel, AWS, Microsoft, Dell, IBM, NVIDIA, among others.

Leadership team: Eduardo Salcedo, (P.I.), Antonio Delgado, (Co-P.I.), Dr. G. Raymond Brown, (Co-P.I.), Habib Matar, (Co-P.I.)

AI ENTRY PATHWAYS

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Entry Pathways project aims to increase high school students' and adult learners' access to AI degrees at community colleges. The project will establish and strengthen entry pathways into AI education by developing scalable strategies and best practices on how to recruit, retain, complete and transition students in AI programs.

Leadership team: Antonio Delgado (P.I.), Habib Matar (Co-P.I.), Samir Saber (Co-P.I.) and Nickolas Dodd (Co-P.I.)

App Development:

Apple

Miami Dade College (MDC) is implementing Miami Codes, a project to increase the number of minority students with app development skills for iOS, with support from Apple. Through its Community Education Initiative, Apple will cover tuition, fees, certification, and transportation costs that will allow Miami-Dade County residents to concentrate on their education without the burden of financial hardships. In addition, Apple provided its hardware and technology for implementation of the app development with Swift courses at MDC West Campus.

Cloud Computing:

EMERGING CLOUD HUB OPPORTUNITIES (ECHO)

ECHO, partnered with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google and IBM is working to provide a multi-cloud College Credit Certificate program to help meet industry cloud needs in the areas of multi-cloud DevOps and Data Analytics. This program will both up/reskill current professionals as well as train current college students in these technologies.

Leadership team: Prof. Norge Pena Perez (P.I.), Prof. Ernesto Lee (Co-P.I.), Prof. Mindy Knowles (Co-P.I.)

Cybersecurity:

ADVANCING STRATEGIES IN CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT (ASCEND)

The overall goal of ASCEND is to provide opportunities for underrepresented minorities to enter the cybersecurity workforce by preparing them to meet the evolving needs of the cybersecurity field and strengthening the pipeline from high school – to college – to employer.

Leadership team: Dr. Diego Tibaquirá (P.I.) and Dean Antonio Delgado (Co-P.I.)

Scholarships:

Rebooting Through EMTECH Programs (REP)

To increase the number of academically talented, minority, and low-income students obtaining bachelor’s degrees in the Emerging Technology (EmTech) disciplines - data analytics/data science, cybersecurity, and information systems technology - the REP project will support 60 MDC “REP Scholars” (20 students per EmTech discipline) with scholarships and wrap around services toward preparing for the tech workforce.

Leadership team: Dr. Elodie Billionniere (P.I.), Dr. James Thomas (PI, and Dr. O. Loretta Ovueraye (Co-PI)

FPL Tech Scholarship

MDC and FPL partnered to provide scholarships for historically underrepresented minority students to facilitate the completion of baccalaureate degrees in the technology field. The funds from FPL will be used to cover tuition, fees, books, and transportation costs for eligible students. This support will allow students to focus on their education, accelerating completion and entry into the tech workforce.

Leadership team: Manny Perez

Level Up Miami Dade County

Level Up is proposed to create an agile workforce by advancing education and training of Miami-Dade County’s future technology workforce. Level Up provides rapid credentialing in emerging technology-related programs of study; training and capacity building for technology faculty; customize success services to support program completion; and offer transformational career services to secure a job or to transfer to a local university and experiential learning opportunities. The purpose is to increase job placement/advancement in emerging technology occupations in Miami-Dade County by increasing the number of persons entering and completing emerging technology programs of study and increasing faculty capacity. The target population served by this program includes college and high school students and the adult population interested in upskilling/reskilling.

City of Miami

Through this partnership with City of Miami, MDC will offer educational training to residents negatively affected by COVID-19 in various career-focused credentials in emerging technology-related programs of study; upskilling and retooling; and early engagement for middle school and high school students and build a sustainable pipeline. Residents of the City of Miami will have the opportunity to earn certificates, badges, and technology certifications in emerging technology pathways, including artificial intelligence. Eligible middle/high school students may be dual enrolled to enable them to gain college credits towards a college credential.

Lennar A+ Fund

Lennar Foundation and Miami Dade College partnered to prepare students with the technical knowledge and skills to obtain the CompTIA A+ certification and become successful IT Help Desk/Support Specialists. Upon successful completion of the program students can seamlessly transition to a College Credit Certificate at MDC.

Women in Tech:

LINKING INTERESTED FEMALES TO TECHNOLOGY (LIFT)

Leadership team: Dr. Elodie Billionniere (P.I.), Dr. James Thomas (PI, and Dr. O. Loretta Ovueraye (Co-PI)

WOMEN RISE (REINVIGORATING INDUSTRY SUPPORT AND EMPOWERMENT)

Are you ready to get started in the fast growing, high-earning technology field? Let Women RISE take you where you want to go with our student-centered, hands-on approach to learning. At the point of entry to MDC, Women RISE offers a tech-based summer program for students to jump start their academic experience. Throughout their studies, students are offered the opportunity to connect with industry professionals, receive academic and internship guidance, and prepare for in-demand industry certifications. Come see how opportunities in tech changes everything.

Leadership team: Nelly Delessy, PhD (P.I.) and Monica Minchala (Co-P.I.)