San José State Partners with Milpitas School District, Industry Leaders to Launch Innovation Campus

SJSU faculty, school district and industry leaders teamed up at a recent campus event to create an AI workforce pipeline for South Bay students. Photo by Michelle Smith McDonald.

According to World Economic Forum research, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is projected to create 97 million jobs worldwide. South Bay students are preparing to join this growing workforce through a new partnership led by San José State.

On Thursday, November 9, an educational collective from San José State, the Milpitas Unified School District, local community colleges and tech industry leaders unveiled the Innovation Campus project, creating a pipeline for the AI workforce of the future. San José State is serving as the initiative’s primary coordinator, and funding has been provided by a handful of tech companies, including Lockheed Martin, Juniper, Infineon, KLA Tencor and Ford.

The event marked the launch of the first courses designed for middle school and high school students and included an AI Workforce Development presentation as well as a tour of the classroom spaces where Innovation Campus is taking place. 

“The progress we have achieved thus far has been made possible through the invaluable support of our corporate partners. Their contributions have enabled us to convene monthly meetings and host esteemed guest speakers, including the MIT Learning Science team, and other community partners and guests,” said Professor Ahmed Hambaba, professor of interdisciplinary engineering. “Together, we have shed light on how students at both middle and high school levels can acquire essential AI knowledge and skills, paving the way for a brighter future in the field of artificial intelligence.”

In Nov 2018, the Milpitas Unified School District passed its largest school district bond of $284 million. This community investment has provided $66.8 million toward the development of the MUSD Innovation Campus, which serves as a workforce development center, as well as serving high school students, adult education and early childhood education research. Innovation Campus is intended to provide training and education to support growing and emerging career fields.