XVIII Airborne Corps Signs Educational Partnership Agreement

Photo By Sgt. Marygian Barnes | Military leaders from across the XVIII Airborne Corps and academic officials from Vanderbilt University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Duke University, Syracuse University, Middle Tennessee State University and the University of North Carolina System gather for a group photo Nov 23 at Fort Bragg, N.C.  

FORT BRAGG , NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

11.23.2021

Story by Capt. Matthew Visser 

XVIII Airborne Corps Public Affairs

Scholars and university officials representing several academic institutions including Vanderbilt University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Duke University, Syracuse University, Middle Tennessee State University and the University of North Carolina System gathered for an Innovation Orientation Day at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, November 23 that culminated with the signing of an Educational Partnership Agreement between America's Contingency Corps and these respective institutions.

The educational partnership agreement aims to strengthen these institutions existing relationships with the military and allow for new opportunities to encourage and enhance education, research, data literacy, and innovation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and other disciplines to increase military capabilities.

"Over the past year, we have embraced innovation to become an AI-enabled Corps. We have been pursuing this transformation under the banner of "Project Ridgway" by fostering a culture of innovation, harnessing data as a strategic asset, and exploiting cloud infrastructure," said Canadian Brig. Gen. Robert Ritchie, Assistant Commanding General - Operations, XVIII Airborne Corps.

Project Ridgway is built with four lines of effort: culture changes, upskilling data and tech literacy, using data as an asset, and building an artificial intelligence-enabled infrastructure.

U.S. Army Col. Molly Solsbury, who serves as the Chief Data Officer for XVIII Airborne Corps and lead officer of Project Ridgway, spoke about the importance of what this gathering means for the future of America's Contingency Corps.

"This is all about people. There are a lot of opportunities to create new mathematical formulas and technologies, but we are focused on the human component to build a foundation for a culture of innovation," said Solsbury.

Ritchie concluded the event by stating that the Corps culture of innovation depends upon "mutually beneficial partnerships with top academic institutions – partnerships in which Soldier-Academic teams field tangible solutions to the complex challenges we collaboratively face."

For any further questions related to this event, please contact Capt. Matt Visser, Deputy Public Affairs Officer for XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg at [e-mail] or [phone].

• Date Taken: 11.23.2021
• Date Posted: 11.23.2021 17:29
• Story ID: 409941
• Location: FORT BRAGG , NORTH CAROLINA, US