Howard University, the historically Black educational institution in Washington, D.C., has teamed up with Google in an effort to train African American students in computer science. Under the agreement, Google will operate a satellite campus for Howard University students in Silicon Valley.
Under the agreement, a group of rising junior and seniors at Howard University will spend the summer months in California participating in a computer science residency program. Students will receive a stipend to cover housing and living expenses for the three-month period. The students will earn college credits for the time they spend at Google.
Wayne A.I. Frederick, president of Howard University, stated that “Howard West will produce hundreds of industry-ready Black computer science graduates, future leaders with the power to transform the global space into a stronger, more accurate reflection of the world around us. We envisioned this program with bold outcomes in mind – to advance a strategy that leverages Howard’s high quality faculty and Google’s expertise, while also rallying the tech industry and other thought leaders around the importance of diversity in business and the community they serve.”
The plan is for 740 students to go through the Google program over the next five years. Google hopes that many of these Howard students will later find jobs at Google or other Silicon Valley firms that historically have not had a high degree of diversity.
