Austin-based Army Futures Command on Thursday announced it has selected Austin Community College as the home base for its new Software Factory education and development program.
The new venture will be spread across two floors at ACC's Rio Grande Campus downtown, which puts it less than a mile from Futures Command HQ. The space is expected to open in 2021.
Software Factory is a soldier-led software development organization that's working on two- and four-year degrees that connect soldiers and students with tech industry partners. The program will provide specialized tech training in data science and AI.
The first cohort will include 30 soldiers and civilians, starting in January. A second cohort will be selected next summer.
“Modern software development is not something that an individual does in a corner with headphones on anymore. Instead, now it’s about teamwork. It’s about how you function as a team to scope problems and code solutions to those problems. You can’t do it without a collaborative space, and ACC is absolutely a collaborative space,” Maj. Vito Errico, Software Factory co-director, said in a news release. “It’s coming together now because local community partners here with Futures Command believe in the idea of it.”
The new addition not only bolsters ACC's computer sciences offerings, it builds on an expanding military presence in Austin that is focused on expediting the its adoption of new tech and taking advantage of the city's high level of tech talent. Other branches include hubs for the U.S. Air Force's AFWERX and the Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit.
General Mike Murray, commanding general at Futures Command, said ACC was a natural fit for the new software-focused endeavor.
“It’s going to force us to think differently about how we think about the future," he said. "I think there’s nothing but goodness here in terms of bringing fresh ideas to solve problems.”
The move also builds on ACC's expanding tech-focus. Back in 2017, the school got a big boost when Apple CEO Tim Cook came to Austin to announce ACC would be among 30 schools nationwide to offer a new app development program.
