HP
HP HBCU
HP has implemented a pilot learning programme focused on 3D printing at North Carolina A&T State University as part of its ongoing commitment to support students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
The company is a founding member of the HBCU Business Deans Roundtable, which was set up in 2017, and has reached almost 300 students across 44 universities through its annual HBCU Business Challenge, in which teams develop business plans to tackle real-world challenges relevant to the tech industry. Subsequent to HP’s involvement in the HBCU Business Deans Roundtable, more than a dozen challenge participants have accepted positions with HP as the tech giant aims to ‘dispel the myth of the pipeline problem for qualified young black candidates.’
In March of this year, HP provided a full colour Jet Fusion 3D printing system to North Carolina A&T State University as part of an initiative which will help to ‘inform and set the stage’ for a broader programme with other HBCUs in subsequent years. The company has also contributed financially to the HBCUvc’s Student Relief Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic and committed to offering internships and apprenticeships to the university’s College of Engineering and College of Science & Technology departments.
HP's efforts come after more than 60% of its hires throughout 2019 were of people from underrepresented groups. The company, whose Board of Directors is among the most diverse of any US tech firm with 42% made up of women and 58% made up of minorities, also set a goal earlier this year to double the number of Black and African American executives by 2025. But while only 7% of the US high-tech workforce and 3% of the Silicon Valley workforce are Black and African American (compared with 12% of the total US population), HP and its HBCU partners are intent on providing black and ethnic minority people with ample career opportunities in, and clear pathways into, the tech space.
“The HBCU Business Challenge is an integral part of our holistic partnership with the HBCUs and it embodies our commitment to provide talent with access, knowledge and opportunity,” commented Lesley Slaton Brown, Chief Diversity Officer at HP. “At HP, our long-term goal is to reinvent the standard for diversity, inclusion and belonging and this begins with paving the way for more black talent to pursue careers in the tech industry. The COVID-19 pandemic and the recent social movements for racial justice have amplified the glaring inequalities in how our country is serving communities of colour. HP’s investment in our relationship with HBCUs dates back several years and stems from our recognition that these disparities are particularly stark in the tech industry.”
“The HP-HCBU Business Challenge is a valuable event for our students to engage in experimental learning and has boosted their industry acumen and likelihood to secure internships and career opportunities,” added Anthony C. Nelson, dean of the School of Business at North Carolina Central University. “With the volatility of the marketplace being further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is increasingly important for our students to receive opportunities like the one HP is offering to better prepare them for an ever-changing global economy.”
