Scaling High Impact Practices to Increase the graduation rate and employability of underrepresented students, while advancing digital literacy in LA County.

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

The digital divide is the gap that exists between those with affordable access, skills, and support to engage online and those who do not. This gap disproportionately affects Black and Latine communities. Delete the Divide is an initiative geared towards reducing the impact of the digital divide. One facet of this is the measurement of the progress and outcomes of youth, young adults, and businesses participating in the program. This data is crucial in understanding the efficacy of different solutions along with the changing landscape of California and where attention is needed.

Social Impact Currently, Delete the Divide correlates data on internet access, median household income, and race. We propose a team of BTTAI students to leverage machine learning techniques to correlate data from Delete the Divide including both demographic and technology use data, as well as outcomes and success from program participation. A predictive model will help not only identify areas of the population that can best benefit from their approach but also can identify best practices tailored to specific populations to increase the likelihood of success. College Completion
Each student selected to participate in this collaborative project will be UC, CSU, and Community college enrolled students who live in communities across LA county. Break Through Tech AI will provide students with a summer Machine Learning and Foundations course as well as industry mentors and career services support. Studies have shown that students who participate in internships are more likely to complete their degree.

This initiative would enhance the reach and scope of work done by Delete the Divide. This would benefit individuals across LA County who do not have internet access and lack digital literacy. Simultaneously, the student participants will have career experience in AI/ML, career coaching, and mentorship. These resources would advance their employability, so they will be able to get jobs that boast their economic mobility. The experience will also push student participants towards graduation as they will now have real-world experiences of the career possibilities that await them upon graduation.

UCLA is the first public university to host a Break Through Tech AI (BTTAI) hub — one of three hubs that are part of a national program that uses high-impact practices to offer skills-based training, portfolio-development coaching, and career mentoring for women and other students from systematically underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds. The first two cohorts (2022,2023) have an internship placement rate of 82-84%. Students secured Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning internships with companies like Google, PWC, Microsoft, and JP Morgan. Success will be defined by a job placement and graduate rate of over 80%. Likewise, social impact is another indicator of success, namely digital literacy and access to the internet in Los Angeles County. The predictive model that students will develop along with other innovations to advance internet access are the mechanisms that should yield this outcome.

Delete the Divide (DTD) is our partner organization. They will assist with providing insights to help students develop a predictive along with other tools and innovations that would advance their mission. Specifically, they will provide students with access to data, access to their software for data management and visualization as well as subject matter insights on how best to close the digital divide. DTD will provide an assigned advisor for students to report to, this individual will assist with tracking students' progress on project deliverables.