Cal Poly Pomona and Avanade opened the school’s new Avanade AI and Innovation Center on February 21.

The center, opened during the university’s inaugural AI Conference, will foster AI research, host AI-applied research groups, and sponsor student events.

“This partnership with Avanade exemplifies our mission to foster innovation, inclusion, and excellence in preparing our students for career success,” Cal Poly Pomona President Soraya M. Coley wrote in a statement. “By combining our academic expertise with Avanade’s industry leadership, we are creating a platform that empowers our students and faculty to shape the future of AI and harness its transformative power responsibly. We stand at the precipice of the future, and it will take the brightest minds working at the world’s preeminent companies to ensure a better future for all, and that is why we are honored to be partnering with Avanade.”

The new center comes after previous partnerships between Avanade and CPP, including the Mitch Hill Center for Digital Innovation, Avanade Scholarship program, FUEL conference, and other projects. Avanade has contributed more than $2 million to CPP over the past decade.