Apple brings coding and app design to more Black universities and colleges
10 more HBCUs will become regional technology hubs.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Apple is bringing coding centers to 10 historically Black colleges and universities.
Apple has announced extending its education partnerships, adding 10 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to its Community Education Initiative. The schools will have coding centers to become "technology hubs" for their regions, Apple said Thursday. There, people can learn coding and app design using Apple's Everyone Can Code and Everyone Can Create courses.
"At Apple, we believe in the power of education to transform lives," Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted. "We're committed to partnering with communities of color to advance educational equity."
The 10 HBCUs added Thursday are: Arkansas Baptist College, Central State University, Claflin University, Dillard University, Fisk University, Lawson State Community College, Morehouse College, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University at Shreveport and Tougaloo College.
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Apple launched its Community Education Initiative last year, and it now includes 24 colleges and universities. Of those, 12 are HBCUs and 21 have a majority of Black and Brown students. Apple also expects to double its HBCU partners by the end of the summer.
Tennessee State University has been working with Apple for two years to expand the HBCU program.
"In two years we're going to double the number of Black women in technology through this program," said Dr. Robbie Melton, Tennessee State University associate VP of the SMART Global Technology Innovation Center. "In two years, you're going to see many more people of color entering the STEM workforce."
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