Springboard and University of South Florida Partner to Provide In-Demand Technical Skills

Springboard, an online learning platform preparing students for in-demand careers through comprehensive, mentor-led programs, announces today a multi-course partnership with the University of South Florida (USF) to empower three new digital skills bootcamps through USF's Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education, a division of USF Innovative Education. The collaborative effort brings a shared mission to action, aiming to have an impact on economic mobility and foster accessible education and lifelong learning. USF will offer some of Springboard's in-demand courses, including UI/UX Design, Cybersecurity and Software Engineering.

USF, recently ranked as America's fastest-rising university according to U.S. News & World Report, and Springboard will enable technical advancement amidst the booming job market in Florida, and provide invaluable skills for students to take with them as they seek to elevate their careers. Demand for technology positions has surged 190% in the past five years, this report shows, and is expected to continue to grow in 2021. Particularly, the Tampa metro area is a growing tech hub and home to some of the largest healthcare, finance and service companies in the southeast, making it a prime market for opportunity.

"We're committed to offering a one-size-fits-one learning model with personalized programs to fit the needs of individual students including both online and live sessions, experiential learning and mentorship by professionals in the space," noted Mark Koulianos, Executive Director at the office of Corporate Training and Professional Education at University of South Florida. "Springboard's course offerings provide both the flexibility that today's modern student requires and the expertise and mentorship needed to prepare them for their next pursuit."

While this marks the fourth university partnership that Springboard has engaged in, this outcomes-focused program is the first of its kind that will offer multiple course tracks, helping USF deliver a full portfolio of offerings across UI/UX Design, Cybersecurity and Software Engineering. Students in corresponding courses will receive hands-on experience and develop unique portfolios of work in the following areas:

• Explore all the stages of the UI/UX design process, from design thinking to ideating, sketching and more, and collaborate with a real company to complete a 4-week industry design project
• Participate in a 360-hour cybersecurity bootcamp that covers industry fundamentals, systems and network security, vulnerability assessment, and security operations, followed by a capstone project intended to showcase specialized skills to potential employers
• Covers key aspects of front-end web development, back-end web development, databases, and data structures and algorithms throughout the software engineering curriculum, inclusive of two full-stack capstone projects

"USF's Corporate Training and Professional Education group is leading the charge at the university level with a very necessary shift toward personalized learning and an innovative approach to career and professional education," said Parul Gupta, Co-Founder of Springboard. "We're confident in the curriculum and its ability to help individuals achieve that next step or chapter in their career, and we know these programs will truly transform lives."

Students who have completed these programs to-date have received job offers from highly coveted companies including Accenture, Dell, Deloitte, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft and more.

The courses will be open to the public, and prospective students do not need to be enrolled currently at USF or have previous experience to qualify. Upon completion of the programs, students will earn a certificate of completion, and a digital badge from the USF office of Corporate Training and Professional Education, and access to the program's career support and job placement services.

Enrollments for all courses are open as of today. The first class for the UI/UX Design and Cybersecurity courses will begin on August 2, 2021, and classes for the Software Engineering course will begin in early 2022. Students can enroll, or sign up to be notified about enrollment updates, at usfbootcamps.com.

About Springboard

Founded by Parul Gupta and Gautam Tambay in 2013, Springboard is on a mission to transform one million lives through education by 2030. Springboard believes that each student is unique, and needs a learning experience designed to fit their life's pace, supported by advisors and mentors. More than 20,000 students across 100+ countries have used Springboard to advance their careers through the platform's comprehensive, mentor-led online learning programs. Graduates have landed jobs with employers like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Reddit, Facebook, and Boeing. Springboard has also trained corporate teams at Visa, Gusto, and The North Face. Springboard is a 2020 Inc. 5000 company based in San Francisco, recently named a Top Workplace for Women by Elpha, and is backed by leading venture capital firms including Telstra Ventures, Vulcan Capital, SJF Ventures, Reach Capital, Pearson Ventures, International Finance Corp., Costanoa Ventures, Learn Capital, and Blue Fog Capital.

About University of South Florida Corporate Training and Professional Education

The University of South Florida's Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education works to extend the reach of USF's academic programs, promotes advanced professional development and contributes to building a world-class workforce in the Tampa Bay area. Students learn from unsurpassed faculty and industry practitioners in courses that are accessible, affordable and professionally relevant.