The Mainframe, a nonprofit devoted to promoting connections and entrepreneurship among Black professionals, has started a group in collaboration with the University of South Florida.
The partnership will be a student-run group housed at each of the three USF campuses. It will engage with the local community and provide opportunities and resources to students looking to further their tech careers.
“It’s always about — and you hear this word often — pipeline development and really being able to retain the talent, the talent that we are cultivating, and really being able to also bring a whole different layer of appeal and vibrancy, not only to the campus but to the region,” said James Faison, founder of the Mainframe.
Student professionals struggle with networking, finding exposure and resource access, and Faison is looking to provide a platform and opportunities to “lessen the runway" for students after graduation, he said. Even students who are passionate entrepreneurs still need help, and this organization strives to give them a competitive edge.
Andy Hafer, the executive director of the Nault Center for Entrepreneurship inside the Muma College of Business, helms the new collaboration’s strategy. Hafer is working on “meeting the students where they are” by coupling them with a community member, similar to a mentor-mentee relationship.
A set of fellowships will also be available for students in the program, and the program will attempt to provide every student member with a work experience, internship or student organization role, Hafer said.
The collaboration’s strategy has been in the works for nearly eight months, and now it’s ready to be launched. But it will take outreach from USF faculty and Mainframe before students take control of the cohorts. The first official efforts of the partnership were on Tuesday and Wednesday, as Faison and others hosted a table at the organizational fair for students.
A common misconception came up when Faison met students during the first outreach event on campus: Entrepreneurs don’t have it all figured out. A support network and resources are equally helpful to people at all levels and interests.
Will Tyson is a sociology professor at USF. He studies the outcome of students in STEM fields with an emphasis on careers. Faison connected to Tyson, and the two began working on the project. He provides advice on grants and research opportunities for the program.
“Mainframe at USF is a convergence of both the mission of the Mainframe and USF, and, of course, it serves the even more important role of serving specific student needs — so students who are looking to make connections within their respective fields, to develop a professional social, a personal network, with peers who share their interest,” Tyson said.
