Adobe champions creativity to empower underrepresented students with tech and skills
Students at Bowie State University collaborate on projects and gain skills using Adobe Creative Cloud during their Adobe Summit. Image Credit: Bowie State University.
Here at Adobe, we’ve witnessed how bringing diverse minds together sparks creativity, fuels innovation, and unleashes powerful ideas. That's why we're committed to empowering students from underrepresented backgrounds with equal access to the digital and creative skills that will shape our future workplaces, industries, and the world.
Today, the Adobe Foundation is thrilled to announce the renewal of our support for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) Bowie State University, San Jose State University, and Winston-Salem State University, granting each university an additional $1 million for investments in student and faculty services, professional development, research and more. We are also expanding our partnerships with career readiness nonprofits, Braven and Thurgood Marshall College Fund as well as forming a new partnership with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society to extend our efforts to Indigenous communities, ensuring that our commitment to equitable educational opportunity and digital skills development reaches even further.
Through our partnerships with MSIs, career readiness nonprofits, and our Student Athlete Micro-Internship program, Adobe and the Adobe Foundation have together championed diversity in the tech and creative industries by boldly tackling educational inequities and fostering holistic, long-term collaborations to democratize digital literacy.
Deepening our partnerships
Thurgood Marshall College Fund scholarship recipients gather together. Image Credit: Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
We are expanding our strategy to deepen partnerships with nonprofits that serve the MSI community, focusing on equipping the next generation with the skills and resources they need for career success. As part of this commitment, The Adobe Foundation is granting an additional $500,000 to nonprofit partners Braven and $1 million to Thurgood Marshall College Fund to extend our support beyond scholarships to include initiatives like career readiness conferences, professional development, and micro-credentialing opportunities.
“The support we’ve received from the Adobe Foundation allows us to deepen our reach and impact at our HSI’s through our Braven Accelerator course. Our students are exposed to new digital tools and applying them to their projects! This past spring, some of our SJSU Braven Fellows had the opportunity to use Adobe XD to test their Capstone Challenge prototypes. We could not have done this without the generous support of Adobe!”
-Diana Phuong, Braven Bay Area Executive director
Our support for Braven at San Jose State university contributed to 296 graduates in 2023, with 86 percent employed or in graduate school. This year, our renewed investment will now support a broader range of programs designed to prepare students for careers in tech and creative industries. This grant will also empower Braven to scale our partnership, exploring opportunities to collaborate with more Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) beyond San Jose State University, ensuring that more students have access to career resources.
Empowering emerging communities
Indigenous communities remain significantly underrepresented in formal educational settings and STEM fields, with only 2.5 percent of Indigenous students majoring in STEM versus 66.7 percent of white students according to the NCF. This disparity has consequently contributed to their underrepresentation in the workforce and limited access to career advancement opportunities. To address this gap, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) offers programs that engage students in STEM through fun and culturally sensitive approaches, thereby increasing their knowledge and interest in these fields.
“By joining forces with Adobe, AISES will establish an Indigenous student leadership cohort to open doors for our students and enhance their capabilities in collaboration, strategic thinking, creativity, and innovation. The Cultivating Leadership Opportunities and Uplifting Digital Skills for Indigenous Students (CLOUDS for Indigenous Students) program will empower students to cultivate a growth mindset and thrive in today’s dynamic world."
Building on our commitment to opening new pathways for those who have been historically underserved, Adobe’s new partnership with AISES aims to increase Indigenous representation in STEM fields and equip them with the tools to lead and innovate in their future careers.
Our enduring commitment
Across all our partnerships with minority-serving institutions, our Adobe Foundation Funding focuses on supporting skilling initiative, with grantees directing their funds towards activities such as building students and faculty portfolios, creating Adobe Express pages, enhancing resumes, conducting skill-focused surveys and providing mentorship opportunities through Adobe. Grantees are investing in skilling programs that include access to creative tools, donated Adobe products, mentoring, and career development, ultimately benefiting over 2,000 HBCU and HSI students and aligning with our commitment to preparing students for their future careers.
“Faculty in our Digital Counter-Storytelling program have created assignments in which students have illustrated their stories of belonging, pooled their combined notes to scale classroom insights, and created vivid journals that brought their lab notes to life.”
-Magdalena L. Barrera, Ph.D. San Jose State University Vice Provost for Faculty Success
By establishing long-term relationships with our minority-serving institution partners, we’ve seen first-hand how enduring collaborations can create sustainable impact that extends far beyond a single moment in time. At San Jose State University, our grants enabled the development of their Digital Humanities Center, which will become a central hub offering will technology and expert consultation in support of digital literacy skills for the university, K-12 educational institutions, and public stakeholders including our Hometown nonprofit community. At Bowie State University, we awarded 30+ scholarships, trained 60+ faculty, and supported digital literacy integration curricula, impacting over 1,500 students. The wide-ranging effects of these long-term commitments is also exemplified by Winston Salem State University’s new Digital Media Production Lab, a state-of-the-art facility that provides students and faculty with access to creative tools, including Adobe-donated products and technology, enhancing their creative and technical skills.
“Students are successfully using the new lab to bring their innovative projects to life, and they are taking advantage of the podcast space to lend their voices to this ever-growing popular medium of the 21st Century.”
Bonita Brown, chancellor, Winston Salem State University
Our mission of Adobe for All is driven by the belief that when people feel respected and included, they can bring their best ideas to the table. The future of our company, industry, and the betterment of our world lies in diverse perspectives, and the resulting innovations of the next generation. We are dedicated to continuing to level the playing field so that that all learners can access the training and skills needed to succeed in the tech and creative industries.