Morehouse College has become the first college to offer classes in the metaverse. By donning a headset, students at the Atlanta-based liberal arts HBCU can immerse themselves in past, present, and future worlds. Dr Muhsinah Morris PhD spearheaded Morehouse College’s metaversity campus in partnership with VictoryXR, with funding from Meta, Southern Company, Unity, T-Mobile For Business, National Science Foundation (NSF), and Qualcomm. Immersive learning Morris taught an advanced inorganic chemistry lab virtually to a dozen students as part of a pilot last spring. She believes the metaverse’s experiential and active learning environment will
It’s the classic Catch-22, you need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience. And let’s be honest, the current volatile climate of layoffs, hiring freezes and restructures, hasn’t made it easy to get either of the two. But tech internships remain a great way to gain experience, build networks, and get your foot through the door. Most tech internships are open to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as those taking online courses or attending boot camps. On the POCIT jobs board, we have
With constant news of layoffs, hiring freezes, and restructures, we know it’s a hard time for many in the tech industry – especially people of color. When underperforming, companies retreat to what they know and who they know. They default to what is familiar, and, all too often, this means older, white men. We saw this at the peak of the pandemic, and it seems we are seeing it now. POCIT was launched to platform the stories of people of color in tech but also to create new ones. Our recruitment platform has
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is on its way to our theaters, and as part of the movie’s promotion, Marvel has partnered with Xbox to inspire the next generation of gaming and tech leaders. According to an HBCU Connect survey, 95% of HBCU students and alumni are interested in a career in the gaming industry. Yet, only 2% of video gaming industry professionals are Black. The Marvel and Xbox partnership aims to narrow the gap between these two figures. Code your own Marvel game Fans around the world are being invited to
Women of color are skilled, ambitious, and talented yet they continue to be underrepresented in senior positions in the workplace. In a recent study involving more than 300 companies and 40,000 employees, LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company have shed light on some of the experiences of women in the ‘post’-pandemic workplace. Here’s what we learned about the experiences of women of color in the workplace; the challenges they face and how they are taking their careers into their own hands. The Pipeline Problem Women of color are still hugely underrepresented in
In his first move as Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk has ousted its CEO Parag Agrawal. After months of back and forth, Musk has closed the $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter. Wasting no time, Musk fired Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal as well as chief financial offer Ned Segal, and general counsel Sean Edgett. Chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, who reportedly played a key role in Trump’s Twitter ban, has also been fired. Read: Musk’s Twitter Layoffs Take A Hammer To Diversity And Inclusion Efforts Sources reported seeing at least one of the fired executives
Lenovo has partnered with multi-award-winning actor, producer, recording artist, label president, and entrepreneur Queen Latifah to support small businesses. Launched last year, the tech giant’s Evolve Small program provides North American small businesses with financial aid, tech resources, community support, and business mentorship. “I understand the hardships small businesses face and how much more challenging those hardships can be for businesses owned by women and minorities,” Queen Latifah explained. “Knowing how the support I received back when I got started helped me get to where I am today – I’m excited to
Nigerian startup Stears has announced a $3.3 million seed round led by MaC Venture Capital which included Serena Ventures. What started as a written media publication by a group of Nigerian graduates is now a growing data insights company with its sights set on rivalling the likes of Bloomberg. Backed by Serena Ventures Serena Williams was playing in the US Open when the seed round for Stears came together. Nevertheless, according to Serena Ventures’ founding general partner, they were keen to invest and fought “tooth and nail” to get in.
The Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI) is launching a new AI tech platform that matches public policy corporations with CBCI-vetted job seekers. Founded in 2000, the CBCI is a nonprofit social welfare organization that aims to educate and empower the African American community around issues that impact it the most. The CBCI’s latest initiative, the Career Placement Initiative (CPI), aims to diversify hiring in the public policy space. The Career Placement Initiative So how does it work? Employers bulk upload communications, legal, public policy, and government relations job openings to the platform. The
Amazon has announced the launch of Amazon Catalytic Capital, a $150 million commitment focused on investing in Black, Latinx, Indigenous, women, and LGBTQIA+ builders in tech. Amazon Catalytic Capital The initiative will provide capital to funds, venture studios, accelerators, or incubators committed to backing startups led by underrepresented founders. Recipients will also receive 1:1 mentorship from Amazon executives and unique business opportunities for partnerships, technical support, and scaling resources. Amazon Catalytic Capital aims to support at least 10 funds and 200 companies through the next year. So far, recipients include Collide
