In August 2024, the National Science Foundation announced a $2.8 million grant to establish the National Applied AI Consortium (NAAIC)—an initiative placing community colleges, not elite research universities, at the center of America’s AI workforce strategy. The idea: if artificial intelligence is going to reshape every industry, then the technicians who implement, maintain, and work alongside these systems should come from institutions that have always served as on-ramps to the American middle class.

At the center of this national effort stands Antonio Delgado Fornaguera, Vice President of Innovation and Technology Partnerships at Miami Dade College (MDC). Delgado’s journey embodies the economic mobility the consortium aims to create. After earning degrees from the Universidad Tecnológica de La Habana and the University of Westminster in London, he arrived in Miami. He discovered what it means to be an immigrant with credentials. “With all my professional skills, I couldn’t find a job,” he recalls. MDC became his professional home—and eventually his mission. “Talent is universal, but opportunity is not universal,” Delgado explains. “MDC was this institution creating opportunities for those with talent.” He became a New America Fellow and has secured over $50 million in external funding from organizations such as the NSF, the National Security Agency, and Google.org.

The NAAIC emerged as a partnership between three community college powerhouses: MDC as the lead institution, Houston Community College, and Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona. Together, these systems serve hundreds of thousands of students across some of America’s most dynamic metropolitan areas. MDC was “the first one in the nation with both associate and bachelor’s degrees” in applied AI, and through NAAIC can now help every community college in the nation do the same—for free.

MDC was an appropriate home for building a more democratic future for AI. Called “Democracy’s College,” MDC enrolled over 94,000 credit students in 2024-25, with a student body that is 75% Hispanic and nearly 17% Black, representing 167 nations. According to federal tax data in the Mobility Report Card, MDC ranks in the 97th percentile among U.S. colleges for its “mobility rate”—over double the rate of Ivy+ institutions.

The NAAIC’s strategy centers on close partnerships with leading technology companies. Its National AI Business Industry Leadership Team (BILT) includes subject matter experts from Intel, Microsoft, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, and Cloudflare. Strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Intel, AWS, Google, and OpenAI deliver training resources, certification pathways, and direct connections between classrooms and careers.

Greg Bianchi, Director of Global Partnerships for Microsoft Philanthropies, described NAAIC’s importance: “So many institutions are wrestling with how they can holistically adopt AI and do this in a responsible way.” He sees NAAIC’s key to success as its “ability to pull together institutions so they can learn together” and ensure “the diffusion of AI skills” reaches communities that need it most.

The results after just one year are remarkable. By September 2025, NAAIC had trained more than 1,000 faculty members from over 320 institutions spanning 46 states, Washington, D.C., and two U.S. territories, completing over 10,000 hours of AI training. Delgado notes that NAAIC has “already touched over 50,000 students based on 15 months since we have been doing this.” The consortium provides training for what some call “blue-collar AI” professions—AI specialists, machine learning technicians, and workers who understand how to apply AI in real-world settings.

The future of AI won’t be built only in research labs and startup incubators. It will be built, one student at a time, in community college classrooms from Miami to Houston to Phoenix. Delgado expects further growth: “Imagine as we continue evolving like this, it is going to scale, and our goal is to reach 1 million students through all the colleges that we’re reaching.” Thanks to leaders like Antonio Delgado and institutions like MDC, the future of AI is looking more democratic than anyone might have predicted.

Read the full story: How Community Colleges Are Becoming America’s AI Talent Engine (Forbes)

Higher education stands at an inflection point. Traditional four-year degrees often disappoint employers seeking graduates with job-ready skills, and students are eagerly seeking more flexible academic programs requiring less time and money. New micro-credentials offerings from top tech companies and universities are filling this gap – providing modular, flexible, and low-cost alternatives to the traditional college degree. My new piece on Forbes.com discusses this proliferation of microcredentials and how governments and universities are adapting: /https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanpenprase/2025/11/28/the-cambrian-explosion-of-micro-credenti/

Here is a summary of the main ideas:

The proliferation of thousands of these new programs around the world has created something of a “Cambrian explosion” of academic programs, analogous to the time in geologic history when billions of new life forms 530 million years ago.

Building a Common Vocabulary

The arrival of so many new programs requires us to develop a common vocabulary to describe and assess micro-credentials.   A micro-credential can be defined as any targeted academic program to develop specific skills or learning outcomes without providing a traditional degree or course credit. Micro-credentials can range from just hours to years of effort through linked programs that connect or “stack” to provide a more substantial arc of learning, and learners are awarded a digital badge or certificate after demonstrating mastery. Through competency-based assessment, students can complete the program at their own pace, greatly increasing efficiency and flexibility. Micro-credentials often are taking in parallel to traditional academic programs and can “stack” to provide something like major or minor.   

Global Microcredential Frameworks

Around the world, governments and universities are building structured systems to make sense of the “Cambrian explosion” of micro-credentials. National Micro-credentials Framework, launched in 2022, sets common standards for learning outcomes, assessment, workload, and credit recognition; universities such as the University of Melbourne and Deakin University have used it to create extensive catalogs of short courses and “Professional Practice Credentials”. In Asia, Japan’s standards for university Certificates of Completion, the NIAD-QE system for applying executive-education credits to degrees, South Korea’s Academic Credit Bank and K-MOOC “Microdegrees,” and Chinese partnerships such as Tsinghua University’s use of MIT’s MicroMasters within a data-science degree all link short, skills-focused learning to formal qualifications.

Canada and Mexico offer additional models. Canadian provinces like Alberta and Ontario have created their own micro-credential systems, while the national MyCreds digital wallet—run by the country’s registrars—stores verified credentials from universities, colleges, and trade organizations. Mexico’s Tec de Monterrey has built an “Alternative Credentials System” that distinguishes between micro-credentials and larger “Macro-credentials,” classifies them by duration and competency level, and uses a central Center for Evaluation and Alternative Credentials (CECA) and an “Institutional Achievement Manager” to map these offerings onto degree pathways. At a regional level, the European Union’s Common Micro-credential Framework aligns short programs with the ECTS credit system, while UNESCO has proposed global standards to connect micro-credentials to national qualifications frameworks.

New Systems and Frameworks in the US

In the United States, micro-credentialing is emerging through multiple overlapping initiatives rather than a single national system. The Credentials as You Go project promotes incremental, workforce-relevant awards that students can earn on the way to two- or four-year degrees, with models such as “Stack as You Go,” “Transfer as You Go,” and “Retro Award as You Go” to improve portability and recognize learning on the job. Many universities now grant credit for industry certifications from providers like Google, AWS, and Cisco, guided by American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendations—Google Career Certificates, for example, are often worth about 12 undergraduate credits. Institutions such as Northeastern University have set up micro-credential centers, while the Grow with Google program and digital badge platforms like Credly offer infrastructure for recording, sharing, and stacking these credentials, and for addressing long-standing challenges in credit transfer and recognition.

My latest piece on Forbes.com discusses work colleges – the type of institution where students take a critical role in operations and serve the college in exchange for reduced or even no tuition.

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Read the full Forbes article here.

Here is a summary!

Rising costs and uneven career readiness continue to challenge U.S. higher education. One proven answer is hiding in plain sight: America’s work colleges, institutions that integrate work–learning–service so students develop professional habits while materially lowering the price of a degree. The Work Colleges Consortium (WCC) describes a small group of mission-driven liberal-arts colleges where every residential student works a campus or community job as part of the educational program. (Work Colleges Consortium)

Among the best-known examples is Berea College in Kentucky—tuition-free since 1892. All students participate in the Labor Program, typically 10 hours per week, documented on a separate “work transcript,” with aid structured so students receive scholarship support rather than taxable wages. The model underscores the dignity of all forms of work and connects labor progression with growing responsibilities over four years. (Berea College)

Missouri’s College of the Ozarks—often nicknamed Hard Work U—requires students to work 15 hours weekly during the term (plus designated work weeks), applying those hours directly to a “tuition assurance” amount alongside grants and scholarships. Work assignments range across 80+ campus areas, including media, farm, and crafts, designed to build both technical and teamwork skills. (cofo.edu)

At Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, the Work Program combines a minimum of 10 hours per week on one of 70+ crews with formal supervisor evaluations, intentional skill-building, and a stated $3,000 per year contribution toward tuition. Alumni overwhelmingly report that the model improved their problem solving, communication, and job preparation. (Warren Wilson College)

Paul Quinn College—the nation’s first Urban Work College—adapts the model for a major metro context. Through corporate partnerships, students gain paid, resume-ready experience with Dallas-area employers; recent announcements highlight scholarship structures tied to internship placement and collaborations like the City Year partnership to expand paid service pathways. (Paul Quinn College)

The WCC currently lists member institutions including Alice Lloyd, Berea, Blackburn, College of the Ozarks, Kuyper, Paul Quinn, Sterling, and Warren Wilson—each tailoring the work-learning-service core to local context while meeting federal requirements for recognized work colleges. A concise overview from ACE notes that federal funds are allocated through the WCC, with colleges matching those dollars and complying with detailed reporting—an often-overlooked policy backbone that sustains the model. (Work Colleges Consortium)

The through-line across these campuses is simple and powerful: every student works, every job teaches, and every hour reduces net cost. Students graduate with substantive experience, professional references, and a documented record of responsibility—advantages that matter in both employment and graduate admissions. For families, the predictability of work requirements (typically 10–15 hours/week) and the direct offset to tuition and living costs can be decisive. (Work Colleges Consortium)

For readers exploring practical reforms that make college more affordable while upgrading real-world learning, the work-college model deserves a fresh look. It aligns incentives, builds community, and treats meaningful work as a central academic experience rather than a side hustle.

Read the full Forbes article here.

My latest article on Forbes.com is entitled “MBZUAI – Building Humanity’s Symbiotic Relationship With AI” – and is about a new AI-only university in the UAE. Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) was founded in 2019 as the world’s first university dedicated entirely to advancing science through AI. Led by founding president Eric Xing and provost Timothy Baldwin, MBZUAI is scaling rapidly—expanding departments and faculty—and is already ranked among the global top 10 in multiple AI fields. The university sits within a national push to build human capital and world-class AI capacity.

On the research front, MBZUAI’s Institute of Foundation Models—working with partners in the UAE—recently introduced K2 Think, an open-source model for advanced reasoning. It builds on a family of regional models that includes Jais (Arabic), NANDA (Hindi), and SHERKALA (Kazakh). The emphasis is clear: develop capable, efficient systems while serving language communities that are often overlooked. Baldwin underscores the opportunity to make a difference by engaging local language communities and addressing real needs.

This applied posture extends to public-value projects. MBZUAI recently hosted the first cohort of AIM for Scale, a collaboration with the University of Chicago that helps governments in low- and middle-income countries adopt AI weather models and build national services. Participants came from Bangladesh, Chile, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria, reflecting the university’s focus on climate resilience and agricultural preparedness across the Global South.

Undergraduate education is now a core pillar. In 2025, MBZUAI launched a Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence with two specializations—Engineering and Business—built on an AI and computer science core plus cross-disciplinary training in business, finance, industrial design, market analysis, management, communication, and the humanities and liberal arts for ethics and human factors. A “co-pilot” educational model integrates AI throughout the student journey, with problem-solving and critical thinking emphasized. The inaugural class includes 115 undergraduates from dozens of countries (about 25% from the UAE). The university admitted nearly 700 students across all programs in 2025, representing 47+ nationalities. Undergraduates spend their final year in co-op roles at top AI companies and research labs; students receive full scholarships with stipends, housing, travel, and health benefits. Faculty leaders describe a studio-like culture that evolves with the field, including startup development and investor-graded pitches, guest speakers up to a Nobel laureate, and hands-on exposure to building and safeguarding large models.

All of this aligns with the UAE’s AI vision. The UAE National Strategy for AI 2031 aims to make the country a global hub, targeting substantial contributions to non-oil GDP. Supporting infrastructure includes a new Stargate UAE data center—developed with leading partners—featuring over a thousand servers and up to 100,000 NVIDIA chips, with power needs on the order of 1 gigawatt.

Read the full Forbes essay: “MBZUAI – Building Humanity’s Symbiotic Relationship With AI.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanpenprase/2025/10/27/mbzuai–building-humanitys-symbiotic-relationship-with-ai/

From a seed of inspiration at Harvard Business School, the Aspire Leaders Program has become a global movement empowering first-generation and low-income students. Founded by Professors Tarun Khanna and Karim Lakhani, and nurtured through the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Aspire has grown from an experimental program in Dubai in 2017 into an independent nonprofit—the Aspire Institute—with nearly 500,000 alumni worldwide.

Through innovative online modules, transformative in-person experiences, and regional hubs (“Foundries”) in places like Lahore, Delhi, São Paulo, and Istanbul, Aspire is building a global community of young leaders ready to tackle challenges from digital transformation to climate change. With a bold goal of reaching 1 million students annually by 2027, Aspire is demonstrating how education, mentorship, and opportunity can change lives at scale.

I just published a full article on this amazing program on Forbes.com—read it here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanpenprase/2025/08/31/the-aspire-leaders-program-from-harvard-inspiration-to-global-movement/

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