GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Community College has announced that it has been selected to be a part of the Artificial Intelligence Incubator Network program. GRCC was one of 15 colleges in the country to be selected to be part of the program.
As part of the program, the college was awarded a $40,000 grant from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), Dell Technologies, and Intel to create a hybrid laboratory with greater access to AI computing power, tools, and resources. The Artificial Intelligence Incubator Network program will connect GRCC with community colleges throughout the country on strategic economic development opportunities, participating in discussions about learning pathways, strategizing on student engagement in AI programs, and gather best practices from each other and industry leaders.
In January, AACC, Dell Technologies, and Intel, announced a commitment to grow the program from 18 states to all 50 by 2023. 70 community colleges in 32 states are currently part of the program.
“GRCC works to provide our students with the most up-to-date training in emerging and rapidly expanding fields,” said Julie Parks, dean of Workforce Training. “Doing that effectively means partnering with experts in these fields. With Dell Technologies and Intel, we know our students will have the right resources. We appreciate the leadership and support from AACC to bring these partners together and provide community college students with tremendous opportunities.”
“AI has become an increasingly important focus for community colleges as providers of workforce education for multiple industries,” said AACC President and CEO Walter G. Bumphus. “Working together with peers and across sectors will enhance the ability of our colleges to advance and scale this curriculum across the nation to ensure that students earn the skills needed to fill these jobs and begin meaningful careers.”
“By providing learning content for in-demand technology skills and creating artificial intelligence labs for teaching and learning at community and technical colleges across the U.S., we are moving closer to achieving that goal,” said Adrienne Garber, Dell Technologies’ senior strategist for higher education. “With collaborators like GRCC, we are creating opportunities for underrepresented populations in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics and the like to enter careers and fill job openings in much-needed technology fields.”
