Latest news with #AICE
Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
KT signs W130b AI deal with Vietnam's Viettel
KT, one of Korea's leading telecom carriers, said Tuesday that it signed a strategic partnership with Viettel Group, Vietnam's largest telecom operator for collaboration on artificial intelligence transformation business. The agreement, valued at approximately 130 billion won ($94 million), marks a significant step in KT's efforts to lead AI innovation across Southeast Asia. The signing ceremony took place Monday at Viettel's headquarters in Hanoi, attended by KT CEO Kim Young-shub and Viettel Chair and CEO Tao Duc Thang. Ahead of the event, CEO Kim also met with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung and Vice Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy to discuss national-level cooperation in AI transformation. Under the agreement, KT and Viettel will collaborate across six key areas: AI transformation consulting, AI business development, consumer and SME solutions, AI and cloud infrastructure, a global development center and joint market expansion. KT will support Viettel in developing a national AI strategy and building localized services such as AI agents and anti-voice-phishing solutions. The two companies also plan to co-develop AI infrastructure, such as a dedicated data center and a GPU farm, and establish a Global Development Center in Hanoi to cultivate regional talent. KT will additionally expand its AI education platform, AICE, throughout Vietnam to train future AI professionals. 'Viettel and KT have formed a strategic partnership to deliver modern solutions across Vietnam and global markets, combining KT's technology with Viettel's local expertise,' Viettel Group Chair and CEO Tao Duc Thang stated. KT CEO Kim Young-shub added, 'This partnership will drive Viettel's AI transformation and foster innovation across Southeast Asia, strengthening KT's role as a global AI innovation partner.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Council likely to approve resolution calling for full funding of AP courses after punting in April
Jacksonville City Council is set to take a final vote Tuesday night in defense of full funding for advanced placement programs like AP (Advanced Placement), IB (International Baccalaureate), and AICE (Advanced International Certificate of Education). Students like Kaden Young came out in force back in April to signal their support for a local resolution that called on state lawmakers to fully fund AP classes and career and technical education courses. The proposed budgets put forth by the Florida House and Senate both reduce bonus funds offered to schools when students pass the courses by 50 percent. 'It really hit home for a lot of people and they didn't realize that these courses that they hold so dearly could be taken away,' Young said. Council initially shot down a motion to hear the bill on an emergency basis, which sent it to committees for a full six-week bill cycle. RELATED: Why Florida lawmakers want to slash AP funding and why education groups say the math doesn't add up At the time, it seemed the resolution wouldn't be heard before lawmakers wrapped up session. But since a state budget still has not been hammered out, there's still an opportunity to take a stand. 'It did wind up being a mixed blessing,' Councilmember Matt Carlucci (R-Group 4 At-Large) said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Carlucci is the sponsor of the resolution, which now also calls on the school district to fully fund the courses in the event state lawmakers refuse to relent. 'They may ignore the resolution when it gets sent over there, but they won't ignore the voices of these young students. Because these young students represent voters, future voters and future leaders,' Carlucci said. And based on votes the resolution received as it went through committee, Young is optimistic council will vote to approve it and amplify the voices of students who fear losing opportunities to earn college credit while in high school. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] 'We all feel really good about the spot we're in right now. We feel as if, the Florida Legislature is extended by almost a month at this point, if we can use that month correctly, we can really get our message out very effectively and we're excited to see where that takes us,' Young said. State lawmakers have signaled they won't be back in the State Capitol before June 2. The House has even moved to extend session until June 30, which is just one day before the start of the next fiscal year. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scholar Athlete of the Week- Connor Seeberger
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – This week's Scholar-Athlete of the Week sponsored by Perry and Young P.A. is Bay High School's Connor Seeberger. Seeberger faced a decision before entering high school: continue homeschooling or enroll at Bay High School. Influenced by pre-existing friendships on the Tornadoes tennis team, a leap of faith was taken, not just onto the courts. Seeberger also enrolled in the school's AICE program, an accelerated curriculum offered by Bay High. During his freshman year, all of his friends on the Bay High School tennis team were seniors. After their graduation, Seeberger took o the role of team captain as a sophomore, an opportunity that brought both challenge and reward. 'It's been a lot of fun,' Seeberger said. 'Getting to meet the new kids, helping encourage them, and seeing them grow.' A leadership role was embraced throughout his years at Bay, leading the tennis team to multiple wins and earning individual honors. Tennis was used as both a competitive outlet and a way to de-stress from academic pressures. 'It's a fun balance,' Seeberger said. 'Hard work was put in inside the classroom, and then I got to go exercise, relax, and just enjoy time with the team.' Now preparing for graduation, Seeberger has chosen to retire his racket. Instead, his focus is being turned to the University of Florida, where he will study engineering on nearly a full scholarship. Seeberger will begin the next chapter of his journey with the highest of honors. Ending high school with a weighted GPA of 4.71 and a perfect unweighted record has earned him the title of Valedictorian for Bay High School's Class of 2025. A future in sustainable systems and energy conservation is being envisioned by Seeberger, who hopes to improve efficiency and workplace safety through innovative engineering. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Duval School Board Chair says accelerated programs not ‘in jeopardy' despite proposed funding cuts
Duval's School Board Chair is speaking out in an effort to tamp down fears of potential cuts to accelerated programs like AP (Advanced Placement), IB (International Baccalaureate), AICE (Advanced International Certificate of Education), and Dual Enrollment. Under the proposed spending plans being pushed by the Florida House and Senate, bonus dollars awarded to districts when students pass accelerated programs would be slashed in half. The proposal prompted Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier to send a letter to parents earlier in the legislative session, warning the loss of funds would force the district to cut courses, lose teachers, or even charge parents for exam fees and lab materials. 'I don't see a situation where those programs are in jeopardy,' Duval School Board Chair Charlotte Joyce (District 6) said. RELATED: Why Florida lawmakers want to slash AP funding and why education groups say the math doesn't add up Joyce told Action News Jax that after working with lawmakers, the district is now confident those impacts won't come to fruition. She explained that the bonus funding districts previously received will instead go to the district's discretionary fund, so the district won't lose money overall. 'I can tell you that Dr. Bernier has said publicly he is committed to pulling that money back out and putting it back into those programs,' Joyce said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] But with the Senate only proposing a $135 per-student increase and the House even lower at just $62, Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar argued districts will likely find it difficult to shift money back into accelerated programs, given overall cost increases due to inflation. 'The reality is if we divert those dollars back to those programs, we don't have that new money. It's not new money,' Spar said. But Joyce told Action News Jax that districts are still working with lawmakers to ensure that districts aren't put in that position. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] 'It depends on who you are and how you're interpreting those numbers. And so, again, at the end of the day, we just want to make sure that we're well funded in Duval County and we do what is absolute best for our children,' Joyce said. Budget negotiations were still underway as of our interview with Joyce. Lawmakers have until midnight to hammer out a final spending plan to avoid going into session overtime. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'The threat was real': Palm Beach County School board to end DEI programs over objections
The Palm Beach County School Board voted Wednesday night to repeal the district's diversity, equity and inclusion rules and statements, heeding a threat from the Trump administration to pull federal funds from districts, colleges and universities that don't drop them. Board member Edwin Ferguson blasted the push for anti-DEI changes, calling the administration's actions "child-like" and "bullying" and castigating as an "idiot" those who might unwittingly back threats forcing the district to scrap policies that help women as well as minorities. Because the changes were approved on an emergency basis, they will go into effect immediately and remain so for 90 days. During that time, the district will get input from the public and from district staff, which can suggest alterations. Board members would need to take a second, final vote before the changes become permanent. Staff recommended the emergency changes because the Trump administration demanded that state education leaders across the country have school districts in their state sign a "reminder of legal obligations" acknowledging that some DEI programs could — in the view of Trump administration officials — violate anti-discrimination laws and subject a district to the loss of tens of millions in federal funding. Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz forwarded that reminder to the Palm Beach County School District on April 10, and Superintendent Mike Burke signed it a week later. The district got $300 million from the federal government in fiscal year 2025 and is using the money to recruit, train and retain teachers working in schools with a high percentage of poor students. The money is also being used for student meals and to educate special needs students as well as those still learning English. In addition to the threatened loss of federal funding, the district could have its fiscal year 2026 state funding cut by as much as $47 million, which would make it more difficult for high schools to continue offering AP, IB and AICE programs. Ferguson was alone in opposition during a series of 6-1 votes Wednesday night as the board repealed district language calling for racial diversity in hiring and promotion and business utilization. He launched an impassioned, prolonged verbal assault on repealing the provisions, repeatedly likening the Trump administration's threats to "children leading the adults." "My 7-year-old comports herself in a much more forward-thinking and professional manner than some of our leaders in D.C.," Ferguson said. None of the board members spoke at length in support of the anti-DEI changes, though Gloria Branch told Ferguson she thought that scrapping the district's policy on diversity in business practices was a good idea. And she rejected the notion that she was only voting in favor of the anti-DEI changes because of the threat to the district's federal funding. "I just want to be clear," she said. "I'm not voting in fear on any of these policies." Board members were otherwise silent as Ferguson continued to blast away at the proposed changes and urged his colleagues to shrug off fear and call the administration's bluff. Burke said he understood the difficulty of voting for what his staff was recommending. "I respect your position as a board member," Burke told Ferguson. "I know this is a tough vote for everyone. We're trying to navigate this to the best of our ability. I'm not a real fearful person myself, but I can't look at just my own personal situation. I need to look at the district and their finances. I felt like the threat was real." The Trump administration has already withheld billions in federal funding from some universities, actions that are being challenged in court along with attention-grabbing administration moves in the areas of immigration, staffing and law. Many of the early court rulings in those cases have gone against the administration, and it is possible — likely even — that some school districts, following the lead of Harvard University, will contest the threat to their federal funding. Jane Tierney, a board member for the Coalition for Black Student Excellence, urged school board members to delay the implementation of any changes "until such time as the legal questions are resolved." Tierney said the policies the district had in place "did not create excellence or equity." "Black students are still disporportionately undereducated," she said. "Black educators do not have an equal chance at promotion. Black businesses still do not get their fair share of contracts from the school district." The district, the largest employer in the county, has had a program in place to certify and track contract work awarded to businesses owned by women and minorities. Unlike other local governments, the district does not require large firms to share some of the work with firms owned by women or minorities. The district moved away from that program in 2017 in favor of one aimed at helping small businesses, many of which are owned by women and minorities. The district said it "will be evaluating over the next few weeks" whether to continue with the certification of women- and minority-owned fims and the tracking of contract work awarded to them. "We acknowledge that continuing to track this information is important for the district and the public to know," a district spokesman said. While much of the focus of DEI programs is on their benefit to racial and ethnic minorities, they are often a boon to women. Ferguson said those who oppose DEI programs and are happy to see the Trump administration push for their demise "will soon realize, 'Oh, shoot. That was something that could have benefited my daughter. I have dreams and aspirations for my daughter. You mean I'm stopping that from happening?' Yeah, idiot, you are. Yes, you are." Trump and other Republicans have described DEI programs as as a form of reverse discrimination against whites that put minorities in positions of authority without merit. They also argue that the programs violate federal laws against discrimination. Democrats counter that the programs are a necessary tool to ensure that women and minorities are included in job candidate pools and that the views of people in marginalized communities are taken into account as policy is crafted. Ferguson told his colleagues that the administration's threat to pull the district's federal funding over DEI is an empty one. "If you're fool enough to pull our federal funding, guess what's going to happen?" he said. "Those same persons who put you in office are going to see you out of office because — guess what? — they have a fair number of people who are receiving (federal) funds. All those monies that we rely on to make this machine hum? A lot of their children are going to be suffering if you pull that $300 million." Ferguson's faith in electoral consequences for Trump if he pulls federal funding from school districts doesn't square with the president's political history. Many of Trump's most ardent supporters are low- and middle-income workers who back him and other Republicans despite their opposition to unions, expanded access to Medicaid and a higher minimum wage. Still, Ferguson told board members they should not fear the administration's threat to pull the district's federal funding. "We should let them do it and see what happens," he said. "I promise you they'll flip flop just like the silly tariffs that are implemented one day and then flipped off the next. It's the exact same thing. You know who you're dealing with." Many of those who have spoken out against Trump have subsequently faced political and physical threats from the president and his supporters. Ferguson indicated he understood that reality. "I'm willing to stand on the line in this regard," he said. "I may be making a target of myself, but I didn't expect to be here forever anyway. I'm going to do what I was asked to do by my constituents while I can do it. This foolishness that we're having to capitulate to, I can't tacitly support." Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@ Help support our work; subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County School Board to end DEI programs heeds Trump threat
