The University of Louisville is no doubt contributing to this trend.

, Louisville scores as the 13^th top smaller market with potential for growth. The report cites employment, wage and tech degrees as contributing factors.

In 2019, Louisville had 641 tech degree graduates and while it may be hard to pinpoint how many of those are UofL alums specifically, many of our students stay in the city after graduation, taking advantage of the robust opportunities afforded by a metropolitan market with over .

We’re not just contributing our graduates, however. We’re developing tech-focused programs with the city, amplifying a town-and-gown synergy that has existed for more than 200 years. We’re also training our students for the “workforce of tomorrow,” adding new degree programs to meet the existing and growing need for tech-related jobs throughout the city, state and beyond.

UofL, for example, recently added a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science undergraduate degree, facilitated by the Computer Science & Engineering Department in the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.

Other STEM-related programs that have been approved just since the start of the spring 2020 semester include artificial intelligence in medicine graduate certificate; materials and energy science MS; and a managerial analytics graduate certificate. Further, the College of Business recently added data analytics and a 100% online business education managerial analytics.

Technology moves fast and we are moving full speed ahead on approving and providing programs to keep pace. The new computer science program, for example, was developed explicitly in response to the growing need for technical jobs. The program offers students a chance to become well-equipped computer scientists and to excel in other areas of studies to match their interests.

These graduates would ideally be qualified for the 3,650 software developer and computing jobs posted in 2019 in the Louisville region alone. They might also be qualified for other occupations in the STEM field, which is expected to grow by 8% by 2029, compared to 3.7% for all other occupations, .

In Kentucky, it is predicted that there will be a 15.9% increase in all computer-related jobs through 2026. UofL has positioned itself to fulfill this growing need, and we’re not stopping at new programs and certificates.

In the past few years, we have also forged a partnership with IBM to establish an IBM Skills Academy to prepare the next-generation workforce. We collaborated on the FutureLou initiative, launched a Center for Digital Transformation, became part of a new Artificial Intelligence Innovation Consortium and more.

We also aren’t limiting our opportunities to the campus community. In 2019, we partnered with the Humana Foundation and Interapt to bring a paid, immersive training program that teaches high-demand IT skills to the underemployed and unemployed in Louisville. We also joined the city to develop a that established Louisville as a regional hub for AI, internet of things and data science.

This town-and-gown collaboration is why Louisville has been recognized by the CBRE for two straight years, according to Rebecca Fleischaker, co-chief of Louisville Forward and director of the Department of Economic Development.

“We are seeing our tech and data analytics ecosystem grow rapidly because of the expansion of our local companies like El Toro and Untitled, as well as critical partnerships with Microsoft, General Assembly and IBM,” she said. “The University of Louisville is a major part of ensuring our tech talent pipeline is filled with a diversity of talent and qualifications, and we’re thrilled with their addition of the IBM Skills Academy and a new BA in Computer Science and with the progress they’ve made in expanding enrollment in their tech-related degree programs.”

Our work isn’t even close to being done. Earlier this month, for example, the university launched UofL New Ventures, aimed at growing startup companies built on the university’s research-backed technologies. There will be more partnerships, opportunities and degrees, all added with a focus on growing the tech talent pipeline in our city.

“Strong town-gown partnerships are important for any city to be competitive for job growth and economic development opportunities,” said Joshua McKee, senior economic & workforce development manager at Louisville Forward, Department of Economic Development. “Our relationship with UofL and its administrators is vital to the success of our city, and our goal of increasing tech education and job growth. As a UofL alum, I am thrilled to see the university soliciting feedback from industry, government, and consultants to develop in-demand and industry-responsive curriculum and degree programs.”

As Microsoft establishes a physical location downtown, the city will serve as a sort of urban laboratory to strengthen Louisville’s core industries like health care and manufacturing, which face a risk of automation from the progression of AI technology. The AI Innovation Digital Alliance with Microsoft, in part, will help companies in vulnerable industries re-skill and up-skill their workforce to meet the changing economy.

“We are so excited to partner with Microsoft and Mayor (Greg) Fischer to leverage our workforce, prepare students for the future and strengthen our vital town-gown relationship,” UofL president Neeli Bendapudi said during the June 7 announcement.Ìę

The Microsoft news came on the heels of the that UofL will partner with IBM to establish an IBM Skills Academy focused on digital learning and technology skills. It will be housed in a newly-created Center for Digital Transformation on the Belknap Campus and will open by the start of the fall semester.

Similar to the Microsoft partnership with the city of Louisville, IBM’s partnership with UofL will cover fast-growing technology areas like AI to bridge the growing digital divide.

“It’s important for us to be nimble with this, to be truly transformative, and to say, ‘We see what’s coming, how can we be proactive?’” Bendapudi said.Ìę

These efforts are catching plenty of attention. Last month, Louisville Business First devoted its cover story to UofL’s position to be the impetus behind . As an example, the story spotlights UofL’s Bucks for Brains program, which has yielded a number of innovations from the nation’s top researchers and scholars who have been recruited through the program since its inception in 1997.

Success stories from the program include Cellular Therapeutics, a research group created by Dr. Suzanne Ildstad in the late 90s dedicated to developing a technology for organ transplantation. Cellular Therapeutics’ iteration, Talaris Therapeutics, secured a $100 million investment in April, which will go toward a unique cell therapy technology that improves the lives of kidney transplant recipients.

“Ildstad’s story is the embodiment of the kind of high-impact, transformative work that happens when investments are made in UofL’s mission as the only public research university in the city,” Business First says.

Such tech-focused efforts are being noticed nationally as well. In May, titled, “Four Reasons Why The University Of Louisville’s IBM Skills Academy Is A Very Smart Move,” touting the mutual benefits between the university and its corporate partner.

According to Forbes, the partnership helps address the continuing digital divide and boosts economic development in the area. It is also expected to provide a recruiting advantage for the university.

“College students express two major motives for pursuing their education – to prepare themselves for a good job and to gain knowledge so they are broadly prepared for a successful life,” the story says. “The IBM Skills Academy at the University of Louisville offers one path to help synergize the two main purposes of college. Students can acquire marketable technology skills at the same time they benefit from the broader education that good universities provide.”

In June, Forbes piggybacked off this idea with another article illustrating the , a nonprofit membership organization comprised of Fortune 500 executives, major university presidents and other educational leaders. Once again, the IBM/UofL partnership was highlighted as an example.

“American businesses are increasingly taking the lead in developing and ‘up-skilling’ their workforce in critical digital and technological competencies. Whether it’s through increasingly generous employer-provided educational benefits 
 or through specific company-university partnerships like the , the rise of business-directed and employer-supported curricula is one of higher education’s most noteworthy trends,” the story says.

Such efforts were also highlighted in , which focused specifically on how the university is helping the city of Louisville bring tech training to scale. The story spells out the need for such work, noting that Louisville has just 79% of the technology jobs it should have for a city its size. In the past decade, Louisville has added just 17,000 jobs in the professional scientific technical services industry, for example, compared to Nashville, which added 75,000 such jobs.Ìę

Based on estimates, the city of Louisville would need to add about 1,500 jobs annually for four years to catch up. This is why UofL is stepping up.

In addition to corporate partnerships, UofL is also sharpening its focus on commercialization. For example, in May, the university to help guide research-backed invention to market.Ìę

UofL ranks as one of only 120 U.S. “Research 1” universities with “very high research activity,” according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher łÉÈËֱȄ. The EIRs will amplify UofL’s existing efforts aimed at getting technologies born from that research to market, which include a “superfecta” of .

Funding for the EIRs comes from the Louisville Entrepreneurship Acceleration Partnership (LEAP), another public-private partnership led by UofL and backed by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

LEAP was . During the launch, President Bendapudi noted the objectives for LEAP were to commercialize university research, enhance the region’s reputation for innovation, grow jobs and economic development and build the next generation of leaders.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg of all the work on campus that has gone into helping transform the city and the region into an innovation hub. There is also the impact that Giddy, the Hive, FirstBuild and others have made.

In September, UofL will team up with GE-backed FirstBuild to host a , which will include exhibitions, competitions, workshops and more. According to Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances, the Maker Faire will be the largest gathering of inventors, creators and makers that this city has ever seen. Mayor Greg Fischer added that the event will help the city thrive and grow. And, as all of this progress is happening, the University of Louisville is at the center of it all.

The inauguration is part of a series of events scheduled next week designed to engage all of UofL’s constituencies — faculty, staff, students, alumni and the Louisville community — with festivities planned for all three campuses.

The celebration kicks off on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 11:30 a.m. at the SAC with a student social. All UofL students are invited to eat lunch with Dr. Bendapudi, which will be served by faculty and staff.Ìę

Later that same day, at 6 p.m., an open reception and panel discussion will be held at the Speed Art Museum. The discussion will focus on UofL’s Town and Gown relationship and includes Dr. Bendapudi, Mayor Greg Fischer and local education officials.

On Wednesday, Oct. 3, those on the Shelby Campus will be able to welcome Dr. Bendapudi with a breakfast, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The HSC faculty and staff social, in the HSC Plaza, begins at 11 a.m. Oct. 3, while the Belknap faculty and staff social is at 2 p.m. Oct. 3 in the Humanities Quad.Ìę

The final event of the week is the Inaugural Celebration, which will be held at 3 p.m. after the formal ceremony on Oct. 4. Faculty, staff, students and community members are welcome to attend.Ìę

The full slate of inauguration events .Ìę

Goughler, who works at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute on the Health Sciences Center Campus, cried when she won. She said she was “shocked and embarrassed and humbled.”

Every year since 2009, the UofL Outstanding Community Engagement awards have been given out to recognize extraordinary community involvement by faculty, staff, students and community partners.

The deadline for nominations for the is April 29. Winners receive $2,500, have their names added to a plaque in Ekstrom Library and are honored at a reception.

Another 2014 winner was Karen Robinson, PhD, School of Nursing gerontology professor emerita and executive director of the .

Robinson was recognized for her work on behalf of those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and their caregivers. She has partnered with the Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana Alzheimer’s Association to start a Memory CafĂ© and with Norton’s Office of Church and Health Ministry to help build more dementia-friendly congregations and faith communities. She used the monetary award to travel to Amsterdam to visit a village designed specifically for people with dementia.

“The tour of this village inspired me to think of how these concepts might be used to build a more dementia-friendly community, including faith groups prepared to provide ministry to people with dementia and their caregivers,” she said.

Diane Whitlock, assistant to the vice provost for diversity and international affairs, won in 2010 for her work with The Healing Place, an addiction recovery center.

“It was an honor to be recognized by my employer for work that I hoped would be beneficial to the community,” Diane said. “The university’s commitment to community engagement is a true example of how merging ‘town and gown’ benefits our city stakeholders and demonstrates the positive impact of putting ideas to action.”

Kim Johnson, administrative associate in Information Technology, who won in 2015 with co-worker Ann Hobdy for collecting items such as warm clothing for homeless children and stuffed bears for frightened children in police patrol cars, said it was a “great honor” to win the award.

“I love volunteering and giving back to the community,” she said. “We have such a big need so close to our university home and every time I bring a service project to our department and ask for help, they are always there to help pay it forward. It is nice to know that the university recognizes the efforts that employees put forth to help make our community a better place.”

For more on the awards, including nomination forms for 2016, .