ASHBURN, Va. and
RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Internet
Ecosystem Innovation Committee (IEIC), an independent
committee that promotes internet diversity and resilience through
the formation of new global internet nexus points, today announced
that Virginia Commonwealth University
(VCU) has joined as a founding member.
Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D., the
Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Jr.
Dean of the VCU College of Engineering will be representing the
university alongside the IEIC's other founding members.
Dean Boyan is an acclaimed
researcher and entrepreneur. She is recognized internationally by
peers as an expert in her fields. An industry leader and
proponent of improving access to high-value education, she is a
member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the
National Academy of Inventors and is the co-founder of four
companies. Previously, she was associate dean of research and
innovation at the Georgia Institute of
Technology's College of Engineering.
The IEIC's mission is to collaborate with communities globally
to create new internet nexus points through partnership with local
municipalities, academia and businesses. IEIC has identified
Central Virginia as a region with
the essential elements needed to demonstrate effective development
and deployment of an advanced peering ecosystem.
Proper functioning and proliferation of the global internet as a
central part of economic development and business success requires
a cross-functional group of business and academic leaders to drive
initiatives and assist with strategic planning. The internet
requires networks to exchange traffic (peering locations). Reliance
on only a few global peering locations creates risk and limits
opportunity for more communities to participate in the internet's
growth and economic potential. Furthermore, the shortage of a
qualified workforce has become a growing issue that must be
addressed to fully realize the IEIC's mission.
As a founding member of the IEIC, VCU's College of Engineering
will assist in creating a curriculum to help grow a richer
technology workforce. VCU will make recommendations that
effectively modify and evolve existing higher education curricula
and programs to meet increasing demand for highly skilled
technology workers. This curriculum will more closely align
the rising workforce with needs of the expanding digital
economy.
"VCU, along with its business partners, is highly engaged in
community outreach, making sure that young people, veterans and
untapped technology regions have the awareness and tools to capture
opportunities in the new digital economy," Boyan said. "We are
proud to be a founding IEIC member and to further the creation of
new curricula to support enterprises in their efforts to embrace
the digital transformation with a workforce prepared for the
future."
"We would like to welcome VCU as a Founding Academia Member of
IEIC. As a premier research university, VCU is highly involved in
economic development and the business community. Together, we will
further enhance the student experiences and develop curricula
gearing up the next generation of technology professionals, " said
Vinay Nagpal, Secretary and
Executive Director of IEIC.
The IEIC is an organization assisting the digital economy
globally. In each community the IEIC will assist in
incubating local chapters to sustain initiatives with a member of
the core IEIC acting as a sponsor.
About VCU and VCU Health
Virginia Commonwealth University
is a major, urban public research university with national and
international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown
Richmond, VCU enrolls more than
31,000 students in 217 degree and certificate programs in the arts,
sciences and humanities. Thirty-eight of the programs are unique in
Virginia, many of them crossing
the disciplines of VCU's 11 schools and three colleges. The
VCU Health brand represents the VCU health sciences academic
programs, the VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Health System,
which comprises VCU Medical Center (the only academic medical
center and Level I trauma center in the region), Community Memorial
Hospital, Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, MCV Physicians and
Virginia Premier Health
Plan. For more, please
visit www.vcu.edu and vcuhealth.org.
About the Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee
The
IEIC is an independent committee that promotes Internet diversity
forming new global Internet nexus points. The mission of IEIC is to
partner with communities globally to create new Internet nexus
points through public and private partnerships with local
municipalities, academia and businesses. The Founding Members of
IEIC are industry luminaries from many of the world's most
respected companies and leaders including: Vint Cerf/Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Clint Heiden/QTS (NYSE: QTS), Rafael Arranz/Telxius, Staffan
Göjeryd/Telia Carrier (VSE: TEL1L),
Steve Alexander/Ciena (NYSE: CIEN),
Howard Boville/Bank of America
(NYSE: BAC), Mark Boxer/Cigna (NYSE:
CI), Frank Nazzaro/Freddie Mac
(NASDAQ: FMCC), Asher Kagan/Blade,
Vinay Nagpal/InterGlobix,
Michael Leidinger/Hilton (NYSE:
HLT), Andrew Dugan/CenturyLink
(NYSE: CTL), Jon Greaves/QTS (NYSE:
QTS), Barbara Boyan/Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). For
additional information visit: www.ieicco.com
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SOURCE Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee (IEIC)