Molson Coors Beverage Co. expanded its partnership with technology training nonprofit Inner-City Computer Stars (i.c.stars) this month by soliciting ideas from i.c.stars alumni for new innovation spaces in Molson Coors’ Chicago and Milwaukee corporate offices.
The alumni competed in small groups to present their ideas for the space, which all focused on cutting-edge technologies, according to a press release. Alumni students Angel Delgado and Khalil Hall won the competition on July 15.
The winning team presented ideas for an interactive space to support emerging tech that included amenities designed to help with ideation, collaboration and networking, the release said.
Molson Coors, the Chicago-based brewer of Miller Lite and Coors Light, began partnering with i.c.stars in 2020 to find and train talent from i.c.stars’ 16-week training program, according to the release. Molson Coors has hired five graduates from the program into information technology (IT) roles.
“Molson Coors was pleased to provide an opportunity to the remarkable i.c.stars alumni to make a highly visible and lasting impact on our corporate offices,” said Darrin Vohs, global chief information officer for Molson Coors, in the release. “We are proud to partner with i.c.stars in support of their efforts to develop future leaders and create a diverse tech industry.”
Founded in 1999 in Chicago, i.c.stars runs intensive technology career training that by 2021 had graduated 83 individuals, of which 80% found full-time technology careers at an average salary of $50,000 per year. The organization expanded into Milwaukee in 2018, and three of its graduates went on to launch startups in the city.
