Tennessee State University to offer STEM program in Africa

Tennessee’s first and only state-funded HBCU, Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville has partnered with African Universities to provide coding classes to international students. The program will focus on app design and coding to encourage Black students and minorities to get into the STEM field.

They announced this week that it will begin offering a virtual app design and coding class in Africa beginning this fall, ABC News reports. The course will be made available through a partnership between Tennessee State University and the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which operates multiple schools in Africa.

TSU will also be in partnership with Monrovia College and Wilberforce Community College who enrolls both high school and college students in a township in South Africa. These schools include Clarksville-Montgomery County, Hamilton County and Metro Nashville Public Schools.

All high school students are eligible to join TSU’s Dual Enrollment program, which has other classes available in the Language Arts and Liberal Arts.

“Our global mission is to empower underserved populations,” TSU President Glenda Glover said. Glover also stated, “Access to education is challenging in parts of Africa. We’re meeting that challenge and breaking those barriers.”

If students in the program desire to advance their education with the HBCU, the school will be offering degrees remotely via virtual courses with hopes of getting more students interested in STEM programs.

TSU has been doing great partnerships. Just recently TSU partnered with Meharry Medical College to bring more doctors and dentists to rural areas to improve primary care in underserved areas. This partnership also plans to roll out fall.

All programs are intended to grow the Black community especially at HBCUs so be on the lookout for more updates on the new programs coming soon. 

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Kiara Desirai

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