Students in rural West Virginia will gain access to emerging AI skills thanks to a newly funded, fully online Applied Artificial Intelligence certificate program at Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College (Eastern WVCTC). The program received $169,000 from a state grant to build career-focused AI instruction supported by tech giant IBM and aerospace manufacturer Northrop Grumman, according to a news release last week.

The college is teaming up with these private-sector partners to design curriculum for an AI-enabled workforce. Under the grant, Eastern will hire a specialist to develop a one-year certificate program training students on machine learning, data analysis and AI applications, Robert Burns, director of nonprofits and grant management at Eastern, wrote in an email to Government Technology. From there, the program will expand to include an Associate of Applied Science in AI. Both IBM and Northrop Grumman will help define competencies most needed by employers and may also offer apprenticeships or staff support.

Burns said the new certificate builds on the college’s existing efforts, like their cyber intelligence degree program and a one-day prompt engineering course held in June. Free to residents of neighboring counties, the school offered 45-minute sessions introducing ChatGPT and providing demos.

“Following our successful one-day seminar on AI prompt development, we recognized a genuine and growing community need for structured training in AI skill sets,” Burns wrote in an email. “In addition, our technology partners, IBM and Northrop Grumman, confirmed a direct need for workers with applied AI skills.”

What Burns noticed is not unique to West Virginia. Nearly 57 million white-collar workers in America are interested in gaining AI skills, and only 15 percent of them are currently enrolled in structured learning programs to do so, according to a report last month from higher-ed research firm Validated Insights.

The same report found that demand for credential-bearing AI programs is growing quickly. From 2016 to 2023, completions of AI degrees and certificates grew by almost 10 times.

Looking forward, Eastern WVCTC hopes to continue its AI work with stand-alone AI modules oriented toward workforce development. Burns said the courses would be stackable and count toward the AI certificate and degree programs, serving shorter-term upskilling and longer-term academic interests alike.

New campaign is the first for the hotel brand from BBH Singapore

BBH Singapore has created an ad campaign for Fairfield by Marriott, a part of Marriott Bonvoy’s global portfolio of over 30 hotel brands, that shows how, in a world of sensory overload and travel overstimulation, Fairfield is your calm oasis — a place to rest, recharge, and head back out again.

“Come Back To Calm,” the new campaign platform, builds on Fairfield by Marriott’s “The Beauty of Simplicity” positioning. The campaign presents Fairfield by Marriott as the hotel that gives you just what you need inside, so you can experience more outside.

This is the first work by BBH Singapore for Marriott International Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) since winning the business following a pitch earlier this year.

The work centres on an online film that celebrates the ‘good chaos’  and sensory overload of the outside world — the noise, colour, spontaneity, and excitement of exploration — and positions Fairfield by Marriott as the counterbalance, a calm, pared-back sanctuary offering serenity. BBH Singapore aimed to create work that stays with the viewers, just as Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio creates experiences that stay with you.

The campaign will launch on Monday August 25th across Spotify, Jiohotstar, Meta, Youtube in India and run for one year.

Khairul Mondzi, Executive Creative Director at BBH Singapore, said: “I remember stepping off a long-haul flight, utterly frazzled, and checking into my room. The door closed behind me and for the first time that day there was silence. No emails, no notifications, no plans. Just breathing. In that pause I felt more alive than I had in days. Then it hit me. Calm isn’t just rest. It’s what gives you the clarity and energy to really be present, to notice the world around you and to fully engage with it. It’s like being in the eye of the storm. That’s the feeling we wanted this campaign to capture.”

Sid Tuli, Managing Director at BBH Singapore, said: “Marriott Bonvoy is home to some of the most iconic hospitality brands in the world — Marriott Hotels, Westin, Sheraton, Courtyard by Marriott, Lé Meridien, along with many others that are fast growing and on their way to becoming household names. Winning the remit to help them tell the brand story creatively across the region is a dream and we’re off to a great start. We can’t wait for you to see what’s next.”

Source: BBH Singapore

  Advertising, BBH Singapore, Campaign, Fairfield by Marriott, Marketing, Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International