Young African-American man looking at laptop in server room

Despite making up 13% of the US population, Black people only make up 3% of employees at top Silicon Valley tech companies. These numbers are unacceptable and that is why Udacity is partnering with Blacks In Technology to initiate change and increase representation in the technology industry.

Together, with Blacks In Technology, Udacity is proud to offer 150 Free Tech Scholarships to the Black community.

“The Blacks In Technology (BIT) Foundation’s goal and mission is to ‘“stomp the divide” between Black workers and the greater tech industry. The intent is to fundamentally influence and effect change at both an individual and systemic level. Blacks In Technology achieves this through training, education, networking, and mentorship programs with the support of allies, partners, sponsors, and member volunteers,” explains Dennis Schultz, Executive Director of Blacks In Technology.

Blacks In Technology and Udacity Scholarship Creates Opportunities Through Access to Nanodegree Programs 

Through the Blacks In Technology and Udacity Scholarship, 1,000 applicants will be selected to participate in a Challenge Course. Then, 150 students from the Challenge Course will be selected to earn a follow-up scholarship to one of three top Nanodegree programs — absolutely free.

Each program will give scholarship recipients the opportunity to gain skills that are in-demand and attractive to employers today. Here are the top programs included in the Blacks In Technology and Udacity Scholarship. 

Product Manager Nanodegree Program

Join Udacity’s School of Business while learning how to nurture tech products through the market lifecycle in the Product Manager Nanodegree program. With a 10-hour weekly commitment, you can complete the program in just four months. Plus, there are no prerequisites to join. 

In this program, students learn everything from product strategy and design (with user validation), to actual product development, execution and launch. 

At the end of this course, students will have projects for their portfolio that mirror real-world work to help them land their first job as a product manager.

Cloud DevOps Engineer Nanodegree Program

Part of Udacity’s School of Cloud Computing, the Cloud DevOps Engineer Nanodegree program will teach you how to scale cloud infrastructure and manage network applications. Study just 10 hours per week, and you can wrap up the program in four short months.

It’s recommended for enrollees to be familiar with intermediate JavaScript, including web development, Object Oriented Programming (OOP) and basic Linux commands.

In this program, students learn the fundamentals of Cloud Development, including deploying infrastructure as code (IAC), creating Continuous Integrations/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines and managing microservices with Kubernetes. 

Enrollees leave this course with a completed capstone project that is tailored to each student’s interest in Cloud DevOps.

Programming for Data Science with Python Nanodegree Program

Get a solid foundation for a career in data science with the Programming for Data Science with Python Nanodegree program. At approximately 10 hours a week, this course can be finished in only three months and has no required prerequisites to join.

In this program, students learn essential components of a solid foundation in data science, including the basics of SQL and relational databases, programming in Python with essential libraries and version control with Git.

Bringing Racial Representation to the Tech Industry

The Udacity team is focused on creating increased opportunities for representation in tech but there’s a lot of work to be done dismantling system racism and encouraging individuals to flourish in tech through the help of scholarships, education and mentorship.

All students that take a Nanodegree program through the Udacity and Blacks In Technology and Udacity Scholarship program will receive cutting-edge, real-world skills in technology, finish a portfolio or capstone project and will be able to plug into a network of Blacks In Technology Black tech professionals and Udacity graduates.

Blacks In Technology and Udacity Scholarship applications open on March 1, 2021 and close on April 13, 2021. 

Enroll today to get started!

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