The University of Nebraska Foundation will receive a $250,000 gift from Google to advance artificial intelligence research and education across the university system. Google made the announcement during an event Monday at the Nebraska Innovation Campus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
This gift, one of several announced at the event to support Nebraska’s educational entities, will enable faculty and students to engage in cutting-edge AI technologies, positioning the university as a leading turning point of innovation in this transformative field. During the event, Google also announced $930 million in infrastructure investments in Nebraska, which will support the growth of its data center campuses in Lincoln, Papillion and Omaha, helping to meet growing demand of Google Cloud, innovations in AI and other digital products and services.
“The University of Nebraska is proud to celebrate with Google as they make a transformative investment in our state and our future,” said University of Nebraska President Jeffrey P. Gold, MD. “Their generous gift to the university underscores our shared commitment to harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to ensure we remain at the forefront of research, teaching and public engagement.
This gift comes at a time when NU is doubling its efforts to harness the power of AI. Earlier this year, the university announced a new undergraduate program in generative AI. The program is a collaboration between UNL and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Additionally, all four NU campuses are actively developing AI-related programs and using new technology to drive teaching and innovation. A pan-university AI working group, comprised of faculty and staff from a wide range of disciplines, including information technology, medicine, agriculture, engineering, library science and more Still others, strive to understand opportunities for collaboration across campuses and identify areas of common strength. .
“The University of Nebraska’s work in AI, including that which will be possible through this investment, is critical to our vision for the future,” Gold said. “As we strive to be an exceptional university system, we must also strive to be a pioneer in the understanding, use and advancement of new technologies, including AI. »