University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander -- along with UA-Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale, Forge Institute and Acxiom -- announced the creation of the Consortium for Cyber Innovation.
The consortium will develop and align cyber education and grow applied research capabilities in Arkansas, according to the announcement.
"CCI is potentially a game-changer for economic development in the state of Arkansas," Alexander said in the news release.
"Cyber security, data science and emerging technologies are experiencing phenomenal growth in our state, our nation and the world. This is an important step forward in the expansion of our efforts in cyber technology and innovation for UAPB, and it is yet another way that our state is advancing through computer technology. As our state's land-grant historically black university, UAPB is hopeful that our priorities of expanding computer education and the cyber workforce will lead to a more diverse industry workforce, reaching many of our underrepresented populations," Alexander said.
The consortium's main objective is to create a strategic regional industry cluster in emerging technologies that will support national defense and enhance Arkansas as a Cyber Defense State. Through public-private partnerships and strategic initiatives, the consortium will provide next-level student, industry and research experiences and create flexible workforce, academic credentials and industry entryways into cybersecurity and data science, according to the release.
The consortium brings UAPB together with a public urban research university and a private non-profit with plans to add partners across Arkansas and the Midsouth as it scales research and education initiatives.
"UA Little Rock is committed to growing a talented workforce of highly skilled cyber professionals in central Arkansas," Drale said. "Today's announcement takes our commitment a step further because we know we are stronger when we work together with partners in higher education, industry, government, non-profit organizations like Forge Institute and others. We are building the future of our state as we pursue the common goal of ensuring national security through strategic and collaborative workforce development, research and innovation."
This work will expand the cyber workforce and build regional capacity to support economic development and growth across industry sectors as Arkansas recovers from the economic impacts of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, according to the release.
"The Consortium for Cyber Innovation is monumental to developing our high-tech workforce and developing new capabilities to prevent, detect and mitigate emerging technology risks to businesses, including our nation's critical infrastructure," said Lee Watson, chief executive officer of the Forge Institute.
"Both campuses already have outstanding undergraduate and graduate computer science programs, cybersecurity resources and world-class faculty. We're excited to lend our expertise to this very important endeavor which will help fill the coming 3.4 million job gap," Watson said.
Sen. John Boozman, who joined the announcement via video conference, praised the efforts of those partners involved in the creation of CCI and offered support on behalf of the Arkansas congressional delegation.
An immediate goal of the consortium is to create a Strategic Initiative Office (SIO) with the goal of providing funded grant resources for building applied learning and research experiences for students, developing new innovation opportunities, and facilitating technology transfer capabilities at the speed of business, according to the release.
SIO will allow the Consortium to obtain and manage federal funding for creating a sustainable statewide network of education and research efforts in emerging technology and national defense. These initiatives will wrap around Arkansas' high-growth industries, especially energy, healthcare, finance, data sciences, advanced manufacturing, and supply chain logistics.
By leveraging nationally-recognized academic faculty and global industry experts across its network, the consortium also plans to enhance access to cyber curriculum through creating shared undergraduate certificate and training programs. These certificate programs will develop and diversify cyber workforce capacity throughout the region by providing real-world experiences and connecting students directly with employers.