September 21-27 is Nationwide Traditionally Black Schools and Universities (HBCU) Week. This weblog will acknowledge one of many methods Cisco has collaborated and innovated with these establishments.
When Olga Osaghae accepted the function of Chief Data Officer at Howard College, she walked into a job that was equal components alternative and problem. “It wasn’t nearly upgrading Wi-Fi,” she mirrored. “It was about reimagining what training may appear to be in a digital-first world.”
The campus was wealthy in historical past, its legacy woven by means of a long time of educational excellence. However beneath that legacy lay an growing older IT infrastructure, placing the college vulnerable to not assembly Nationwide Institute of Requirements and Expertise (NIST) cybersecurity requirements, impacting their eligibility for important Title IV Federal Pupil Support. The necessity for change was clear—and it wasn’t nearly tech. It was about function.
From challenges to potentialities
The turning level got here throughout a method session with tutorial leaders and IT stakeholders. Conversations shortly moved past ache factors—like dropped alerts in lecture halls or siloed methods—and started to discover what was potential. Osaghae knew they couldn’t do it alone. That’s when the college turned to Cisco.
- What if each scholar had seamless entry to studying sources from anyplace on campus?
- What if college may use real-time knowledge to tailor instruction?
- What if the college may turn out to be a mannequin for what a ‘good campus’ actually seems like?
“Our partnership with Cisco wasn’t nearly options—it was about shared imaginative and prescient. They understood the size of what we needed to do. Extra importantly, they understood why we needed to do it.”— Olga Osaghae, CIO
The facility—and accountability—of AI in training
Synthetic intelligence shortly emerged as a game-changing alternative. Used effectively, it may help college, streamline processes, and determine at-risk college students. However Osaghae knew this sort of innovation got here with deep accountability—and “energy with out accountability is harmful.”
To make sure moral, clear, and accountable use of AI, the college labored with Cisco to ascertain a governance framework. Coaching applications had been additionally launched to assist college undertake AI instruments confidently and successfully.
From connectivity to intelligence: Increasing the imaginative and prescient
What started with community modernization quickly developed right into a broader transformation. Immediately, the college is exploring Cisco’s capabilities in:
The college is presently piloting a sensible classroom expertise in a number of departments, the place professors can modify lighting and temperature, management AV content material from a single machine, and obtain suggestions on scholar engagement—all in actual time.
Classes for different establishments on the journey
Reflecting on her college’s transformation, the CIO shared highly effective insights for others trying to embark on an analogous path:
- Outline clear objectives rooted in your establishment’s distinctive mission
- Assess and standardize your present infrastructure the place potential
- Prioritize safety and stakeholder engagement from day one
- Put money into change administration to deliver your complete neighborhood alongside
Trying forward: A future-ready campus
Immediately, the college is a dwelling blueprint for what’s potential when management, expertise, and function align. The impression is already seen—college students are extra linked, college are extra empowered, and the establishment is extra agile in dealing with the longer term.
However for Osaghae, that is just the start. “Our college students are going to alter the world. Our job is to provide them the surroundings—and the instruments—to do it.”
And with each classroom linked, each system optimized, and each voice heard, that future will get a bit of nearer every day.