Earlier this week, CivSource reported on a new CodeNow initiative in Miami backed by the Knight Foundation aimed at helping young people learn to code. Now, Microsoft has announced that it will launch its first US Innovation Center in Miami later this spring. The center is focused on roughly the same ends – creating technology jobs and providing labor skills training.
This facility will be the first of a series of new Microsoft Innovation Centers to be established across the United States, and will also serve as the flagship technology center connecting Miami to key communities in the Latin American (LATAM) region.
The announcement is part of Techweek Miami.
Students will be able to take part in academic skills training focused on technology. Entrepreneurs and prospective startups will have access to Microsoft tools, technology and hardware to help test, develop, and hone their solution or craft. It will also provide access to specialists who can help remediate technical issues, and to potential interns or full-time employees who may have needed expertise or knowledge.
The Innovation Center was established as part of the Microsoft CityNext initiative, a program focused on accelerating innovation in urban areas by harnessing the ideas, energy and expertise of local people to create a healthier, safer and more sustainable place to live. Through CityNext, cities and counties enter into long-term working relationships with Microsoft, and these relationships are documented in alliance agreements. CivSource previously reported on the launch of CityNext, which continues to back projects nationwide.
