UC to develop comprehensive skilling, talent initiatives with Microsoft

The agreement is a shared vision to distinguish the Cincinnati Innovation District as a center of excellence and indicative of the role public and private organizations play in fostering innovation and growth through skills initiatives. The agreement positions Cincinnati as a digital skills development hub in North America and will use its transformational blueprint to expand to other cities nationwide.

The University of Cincinnati is working with Microsoft to develop programs for skilling students, engaging faculty to solve core research and innovation initiatives and enhance skilling programs for enterprise customers within the Cincinnati Innovation District.

“The University of Cincinnati is powerfully focused on nurturing the talent needed to create and lead the future,” said University of Cincinnati President Neville G. Pinto. “To meet that mission, we must continually advance the digital fluency and competencies of our students in tandem with the needs of the organizations that engage us. In this fast-paced digital age, COVID-19 has reminded us that we must move rapidly to fill any digital skills gaps and ensure our faculty researchers have access to the newest tools in the industry. We’re proud to welcome Microsoft into the Cincinnati Innovation District. Their partnership on this very important initiative will be transformative.”

The Cincinnati Innovation District was recently unveiled by Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted along with a 10-year plan to create more than 15,000 STEM graduates, $2 billion dollars in research and real estate development by JobsOhio and the state. 

“We are driven to empower transformation for all — cities, organizations and individuals. The Cincinnati Innovation District, fueled by the University of Cincinnati, is a center for talent and joining with a world-class organization that is ubiquitous with digital transformation, will accelerate that vision and become a key factor in our already successful blueprint.” says David J. Adams, Chief Information Officer for the University of Cincinnati and lead coordinator for the Cincinnati Innovation District.

Microsoft is already engaging with the university in a variety of academic and experience-based programs including leveraging LinkedIn tools for students preparing for co-ops and internships, access to tools like Microsoft Learn, providing online learning paths to skill up on technology and prepare students for Microsoft’s industry-recognized certifications, and resources for students to get hands on experience with technology. Connected to this is support for the Early IT Program in the UC School of Information Technology targeting high school and continuing education students, curriculum development in Computer Science and the development of technical certification programs in cloud, data and artificial intelligence (AI). The agreement will expand the university’s ‘digital core’ in traditional and non-traditional STEM programs.

“Microsoft is excited to collaborate with University of Cincinnati in support of their vision to prepare students for the digital economy and their future employment,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice President, Education at Microsoft Corporation. “Together, we can empower students to reach their full potential and fuel the skills and talent needed to support economic development and impact the many enterprise clients in the surrounding area.”