UTSA Hosts Grand Opening of San Pedro I, an Epicenter for High-Tech Education and Research | UTSA Today | UTSA

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The UTSA School of Data Science is the only data science school in the United States at a Hispanic service institution. This distinction will allow the university to help diversify the nation’s current generation of data science professionals, a group that will shape the emerging data science industry in the coming decades. According to Forbes and other studies, less than 10% of data science professionals are people of color and 3% are women of color. At UTSA, 56% of master’s students overall are female and 64% are people of color.

“The San Pedro I facility will provide new opportunities to align our academic offerings across disciplines to meet and advance the needs of our San Antonio workforce while training students to excel in high-tech jobs in our city,” said Kimberly Andrews Espy, UTSA president and senior vice president of academic affairs. “Through collaborations with local industry partners, our students will gain valuable learning experiences and acquire the skills needed to take them from the classroom to the career. The School of Data Science and National Security Collaboration Center will provide unparalleled opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else in the country to San Antonians who dream of pursuing a career in high-tech industries.

The new school, led by founding director David Mongeau, will deliver data-intensive academic and research programs to inspire and prepare a generation of diverse data scientists who can make the world more equitable, informed and secure. It will initially offer five best-in-class master’s degree programs: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science (with a data concentration), Data Analytics, Statistics and Data Science, and Applied Statistics. The school will also host numerous bootcamps, certificates, seminars and workshops to help emerging and advanced professionals expand their technology skills and grow in their careers.

San Pedro I’s central location will allow UTSA to meet the immediate needs of the San Antonio workforce by connecting UTSA students to hands-on learning opportunities. These hands-on learning experiences will enable graduates to apply their classroom knowledge in a real-life setting, giving them a competitive edge in the job market. At the same time, matching students with local employers gives hiring managers a first look at the talent UTSA is producing.

“San Pedro I is a powerful demonstration of the great partnership that exists between UTSA, the City of San Antonio and Bexar County,” said Veronica Salazar, UTSA senior vice president of commercial affairs and chief financial officer. “This state-of-the-art facility serves as a catalyst to foster educational and career opportunities for UTSA students and also to transform the core of the downtown San Antonio technology corridor with new partnerships and perspectives.”

The National Security Collaboration Center, Texas’ largest hub for government, academic, and industrial partners in homeland security, fosters research and innovation in forensics, visualization, cybersecurity, data analytics, post-quantum cryptography, modeling, and attack and threat mitigation, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and software, hardware, and platform integrity. Additional areas of collaboration include training and exercise evaluation, workforce development, and educational opportunities for students and the broader military community. Air Force Brigadier General (retired) Guy M. Walsh is the executive director of the center.

Several prominent industry leaders have joined NSCC’s collaborative ecosystem of 89 partners including Peraton, CACI, CNF Technologies, CPS Energy, Dell Technologies, Leidos, Microsoft Federal, and MITER Corp. In addition, UTSA has established Federal partnership with Air Force Research Laboratory, US Cyber ​​Command, Air Education and Training Command, and Air Combatant Command’s 16th Air Force (the combined 24th and 25th Air Forces, specializing in cyberspace combat and military intelligence, respectively ). To further strengthen the ecosystem, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories have already entered into NSCC partnership agreements with UTSA.

“The opening of this new facility is the next important step in UTSA’s emergence as a global leader in education and research in critical fields critical to maintaining Texas and our nation’s global economic and technology leadership,” said James B. Milliken, chancellor of The System at the University of Texas. “This successful collaboration between higher education, government and industry is essential to meeting our state’s growing workforce demands, particularly in areas such as cybersecurity and IT.”

San Pedro I was funded by $70 million in permanent college funds approved by the Board of Regents of the University of Texas system, a $15 million gift from longtime UTSA philanthropist Graham Weston, and $5 million in college funds .

“UTSA’s commitment to bringing many thousands of new Roadrunners to the heart of downtown San Antonio is something that needs to be celebrated by our entire community,” Weston said. “The promise and potential of the School of Data Science is that our city’s best and brightest young men and women can become the most competitive hires in the fields that will shape the future of our economy and the great companies leading the fight.” global technology talent will know that the road to victory lies in San Antonio, Texas.

Lieutenant General Mary O’Brien currently serves as Joint Staff Director for Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cyber ​​(J6) at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

“UTSA has created, through San Pedro I, an unprecedented opportunity to bring together industry, academia, and government actions for the adoption of emerging technologies and the development of our future workforce,” said O’Brien , former commander of the 25th Air Force. “I look forward to continued collaboration and congratulate them in this new era of learning.”

San Pedro I is the first of two downtown facilities that will anchor UTSA in San Antonio’s thriving high-tech corridor. The university is also in the planning stages for its new $161.2 million Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Career (IEC) building, known as San Pedro II, across the creek. Together, the two buildings will provide the expanded footprint UTSA needs to scale up its efforts in innovation, entrepreneurship, and career-oriented learning.

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