Miami, October 14, 2024 –The National Applied AI Consortium (NAAIC) today announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to expand AI education in the United States and help create a highly skilled technical workforce. The NAAIC is a collaboration led by Miami Dade College (MDC), Houston Community College (HCC), and Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) to provide leadership, training, and guidance for community colleges and companies in the development and growth of AI professionals nationally.
Microsoft’s support of the Consortium will include an industry-aligned AI curriculum, faculty training opportunities for participating colleges and national AI business industry leadership team representation.
“We are proud of Miami Dade College’s role as a national leader in AI education and workforce development,” said Antonio Delgado, MDC’s Vice President of Innovation and Technology Partnerships. “Working with Microsoft to train the faculty, improve the curriculum, and grow the AI talent pool is a pleasure.”
Through the Microsoft Learn for Educators (MSLE) program, educators from the NAAIC can access ready-to-teach curriculum and teaching materials aligned to industry-recognized Microsoft Certifications to equip students with cutting-edge technical skills. These skills, ranging from cloud computing to AI, are aligned with industry-recognized Microsoft Credentials. MSLE is free to join, and once admitted, educators can access numerous resources such as teaching guides, educator forums, lab environments, Microsoft Official Courseware, and more.
“We are working to make AI education more available and accessible so that more people can benefit from the power of new generative AI capabilities. Community colleges play a crucial role in making education attainable.” said Kate Behncken, Corporate Vice President, Global Head of Microsoft Philanthropies. “By supporting the National Applied AI Consortium, we will help community colleges across the country provide their students and teachers with cutting edge AI skills that are needed for so many jobs across industries.”
The NAAIC will expand AI skill training to community college faculty with AI Bootcamps. The no-cost train-the-trainer sessions will help faculty gain the skills to deliver the Course AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals. As part of this initiative, educators will also have the opportunity to prepare for the exam required to earn the Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals Certification and will be provided with an overview of educator skilling resources available through Microsoft Learn for Educators.
To learn more about NAAIC and the AI Skills resources for community colleges, visit https://www.mdc.edu/naaic/faculty/microsoft.aspx