The State of California today announced a groundbreaking AI education initiative in collaboration with NVIDIA.
This unique public-private partnership aims to support the state’s workforce training and economic development goals by providing universities, community colleges, and adult education programs in California with the resources to acquire skills in generative AI.
“AI will continue to advance and play a significant role in all sectors, and California has a duty to prepare our students and educators,” stated Amy Tong, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency. “As a leading force in AI computing, NVIDIA is a natural ally in preparing California’s future workforce.”
Empowering California’s Educators
Through this initiative, California educators have the opportunity to earn certification through the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute University Ambassador Program. This program connects instructors with top-notch teaching kits, workshop content, and NVIDIA GPU-accelerated workstations in the cloud.
“Equipping our professors and teachers with the latest skills is crucial, as they play a vital role in guiding students towards their career paths,” Tong emphasized.
By equipping educators across the state with AI technologies and NVIDIA GPUs, the initiative aims to prepare both full-time students entering the workforce and working professionals seeking to enhance their skills through community college or adult education courses.
“Our goal is to cultivate a future-ready workforce and inspire students and adults to explore future opportunities,” said Stewart Knox, secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
The state agencies are also exploring internship and apprenticeship programs to provide students with hands-on experience in AI skills.
Bridging the Digital Divide
NVIDIA is actively involved in various projects across California, making AI more accessible and understandable to students from diverse backgrounds. Their educational initiatives and collaborations span industries like biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, media, and entertainment, empowering individuals to leverage AI in their work, enhance productivity, and drive innovation.
San José State University is examining how the NVIDIA Omniverse development platform could aid in creating digital twins—3D virtual representations of real-world systems for the city of San José. Additionally, NVIDIA recently hosted a daylong program for students during San José State University’s Black Engineer Week, featuring tech demos and career advice.
NVIDIA is collaborating with schools in the University of California and California State University systems on projects such as training students on underwater data center technology and working with California Black Media to train a large language model on decades of journalism by Black journalists in the state.
The NVIDIA GTC AI conference held earlier this year in San José included sessions for educators on integrating generative AI and NVIDIA technologies into their curricula, along with a panel discussion on the importance of equitable access to AI education and resources.
Learn more about NVIDIA’s AI education resources.