Microsoft and Ivy Tech’s Valparaiso campus have forged an agreement to establish a data center academy program where students can earn certificates for technical and trade skills that lead to jobs at data centers.
Ivy Tech announced the memorandum of understanding with Microsoft on June 17, the same day the city of LaPorte and Microsoft officials held a groundbreaking for a $1 billion data center between Boyd Boulevard and County Road 250.
Under the MOU, Ivy Tech and Microsoft will partner on initiatives such as curriculum alignment, workforce training, internships, experiential learning opportunities, industry engagement, and career exploration programs designed to meet the needs of Indiana employers.
The pact comes as Indiana becomes a popular destination for hyperscale data centers because of its generous tax policies and abatements.
Indiana has 72 AI data centers in operation, according to Latitude Media, a news site that tracks the industry.
Indiana doesn’t lead the country in data center sites but it does top the nation in AI energy consumption with 47.2% of the state’s total output, according to a January report by Texas Royalty Brokers. The level is seven times the national average, the study said.
Industry officials say their rise will lead to good-paying jobs.
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“AI infrastructure is driving demand for skilled trades nationwide,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith, who’s also its vice chairman.
“We’re committed to helping fill these jobs with people in the communities where we operate. Our Datacenter Academy agreement with Ivy Tech Community College will do just that by equipping people in Indiana with the skills to pursue the jobs we will create here.”
Heather Ennis, president and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Forum, voiced support for Ivy Tech’s data center academy and its partnership with LaPorte schools.
She said the partnership is what’s needed to prepare the workforce for the growing data center industry in Northwest Indiana.
“We greatly appreciate Microsoft’s investment in making this opportunity a reality,” she said.
Ivy Tech also has data center technician certificate programs at its Lake County and South Bend/Elkhart campuses.
Valparaiso Ivy Tech campus chancellor Aco Sikoski said the future of college is career-connected and aligned with workforce needs.
“This partnership demonstrates how higher education and industry can work together to prepare students for meaningful careers while helping employers build the talent pipeline necessary to compete in a rapidly changing economy.”
Officials said the agreement aligns with growing national efforts to strengthen workforce readiness through such education and industry collaborations.
The State Board of Education recently developed a new high school diploma that leans heavily into career pathways that lead to workforce credentials.
In March, the city of LaPorte’s redevelopment commission pledged 15% of data center property tax revenue to the LaPorte Community School Corp. for 20 years.
LaPorte schools announced the establishment of a data center academy with Ivy Tech at the district’s Career and Technical Education Center to prepare high school students for jobs.
“This collaboration among industry, education, and the community is exactly what is needed to prepare our local workforce for the burgeoning data center industry in Northwest Indiana,” said LaPorte Superintendent Sandra Wood.
“Our students will graduate not just with a diploma, but with real pathways into careers that didn’t exist here before. That changes what’s possible for this community.”
Last year, South Bend, Valparaiso and Lake County’s Ivy Tech branches partnered with Amazon Web Services to create a similar pipeline from classroom to data center careers.
The growth of data centers is impacting four-year institutions like Indiana University Northwest, as well. If Ivy Tech students complete 60 credits at the school and want to advance, IU-Northwest offers a data science program that’s ready for them.
Blaskara Kopparty, a professor and chairman of the university’s computer information systems department, anticipates the program will grow.
“The opportunities are unlimited,” he said, citing job growth projections of 14% by 2030. He said cybersecurity courses are already in demand at IUN and may lead to its establishment as a minor.
“A1 is all-pervasive… everybody has to use it and information is readily available,” he said.
IUN’s data science courses involve how to enter data, manage it and prepare it for AI.
IUN students typically get jobs as data center engineers or managers who maintain the system and protect it from attacks.
The emergence of AI data centers will impact academic programs, he said.
“It’s going to change our whole life as we prepare students,” Kopparty said.
At PNW, Kristen L. Falzone, associate vice chancellor for marketing and communications, said the university offers multiple programs to prepare students to work in data center-related environments.
Its computer engineering curriculum also provides students with a solid foundation in core technologies that underpin large-scale data center operations. Key courses cover computer systems and architecture, big data analytics and more.
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The PNW bachelor’s degree in computer science includes an AI concentration. A master’s degree in computer science has concentrations in AI, data science, and software engineering.
The university also offers a master’s program in applied artificial intelligence that provides advanced practical skills, including the design, development and implementation of AI applications to real-world challenges.
With the rapid growth of cloud computing, AI, and data-intensive applications, Falzone said PNW was “responding to regional workforce development needs by preparing graduates for success in a technology-driven world.”
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.