Prairie View A&M, Apple team up to bring coding to Houston #CrushMagazine 

Technology company Apple has teamed up with Prairie View A&M University to create a coding and creativity hub within the Greater Houston and Waller County region, according to a university release.

The partnership, part of Apple’s Community Education and Tennessee State University’s HBCU C2 initiatives, aims to bring coding and programming experiences to historically black college and university communities.

Prairie View A&M’s hub, one of 10 around the country, will be housed in Roy G. Perry College of Engineering’s computer science department and will help organize workshops and classes to teach the Swift programming coding language used to develop iOS apps. Apple will provide the college campus with equipment and professional development, and host a virtual coding academy later this month to teach faculty leaders more about coding and app development using Apple’s curriculum.

“We are excited that our faculty and staff are participating in such an innovative program,” Prairie View A&M Provost James Palmer said in a statement. “This partnership with Apple will allow us to provide career pathways into STEM industries for the next generation of student scholars who can directly impact communities of color through the increased presence of technology.”

Apple and Prairie View have been working together since last July, when faculty attended its first HBCU C2 coding academy.

The creativity and coding initiative comes on the heels of Apple’s new $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. That program focuses on systemic barriers communities of color experience through education, criminal justice reform efforts and advancing economic equality, an Apple spokeswoman said.