In the largest higher education deal of its kind in the US, Google is investing in workforce development for the future, putting California’s community college students at the forefront of the AI-driven economy.

“This collaboration with Google is a monumental step forward for the California Community Colleges,” explains Don Daves-Rougeaux, Senior Advisor to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges on Workforce Development, Strategic Partnerships, and GenAI. 

“Providing our students with access to world-class AI training and professional certificates ensures they have the skills necessary to thrive in high-growth industries and contribute to California’s economic prosperity. This partnership directly supports our Vision 2030 commitment to student success and workforce readiness. Additionally, offering access to AI tools with data protections and advanced functionality for free ensures that all learners have equitable access to the tools they need to leverage the skills they’re learning, and saves California’s community colleges millions of dollars in potential tool costs.”

All students, faculty, staff and classified professionals at the colleges will be able to access Gemini, Google’s generative AI tool, with data protections, to ensure they can safely use AI tools.

All students and faculty will also receive free access to Google Career Certificates, Google AI Essentials, and Prompting Essentials, providing practical training for in-demand jobs.

“Technology skills, especially in areas like artificial intelligence, are critical for the future workforce,” adds Bryan Lee, Vice President of Google for Education Go-to-Market. “We are thrilled to partner with the California Community Colleges, the nation’s largest higher education system, to bring valuable training and tools like Google Career Certificates, AI Essentials, and Gemini to millions of students. This collaboration underscores our commitment to creating economic opportunity for everyone.”

The ETIH Innovation Awards 2026

The EdTech Innovation Hub Awards celebrate excellence in global education technology, with a particular focus on workforce development, AI integration, and innovative learning solutions across all stages of education.

Now open for entries, the ETIH Innovation Awards 2026 recognize the companies, platforms, and individuals driving transformation in the sector, from AI-driven assessment tools and personalized learning systems, to upskilling solutions and digital platforms that connect learners with real-world outcomes.

Submissions are open to organizations across the UK, the Americas, and internationally. Entries should highlight measurable impact, whether in K–12 classrooms, higher education institutions, or lifelong learning settings.

Winners will be announced on 14 January 2026 as part of an online showcase featuring expert commentary on emerging trends and standout innovation. All winners and finalists will also be featured in our first print magazine, to be distributed at BETT 2026.

An undercurrent of the Financial Review Cyber Summit was that the best firewall is only as strong as the human behind it. It’s a particularly potent message as we enter a new frontier of cyber risks that are constant and evolving.

As Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Tony Burke told the audience of corporate executives and cyber professionals, “it doesn’t matter how good your electronic systems are if you haven’t trained your people to be part of the human firewall”.

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Simbian, an AI security organization, recently announced a partnership with Wipro Limited to provide AI SOC technology as a managed security service.

Wipro bolsters its managed security services with new Simbian agreement

Wipro, an AI-powered technology services and consulting company, will enhance its CyberShield managed security services capabilities with Simbian’s advanced AI SOC Agent technology.

“Customers demand security solutions that are not only robust and scalable, but also intelligent and autonomous,” said Siva Vrs, President & BU Head – Technology Practices, Cybersecurity & Risk Services, Wipro Limited. “Our strategic investment in Simbian through Wipro Ventures, combined with their AI SOC Agent becoming an important component of our CyberShield offering, reinforces our commitment to delivering next-generation security operations. This partnership will provide our clients with unparalleled detection and response capabilities, reduce operational burdens, and free security teams from alert fatigue so they can focus on investigation and response.”

Further, the alliance combines Wipro’s global scale and industry expertise with Simbian’s AI-driven automation.

Partnership also provides investment and partner program gains

Wipro will also join the Simbian Partner Program, as part of the collaboration, to facilitate closer integration and achieve synergies in the go-to-market strategy.

As part of the strategic collaboration, Wipro Ventures will make an investment in Simbian.

“We are excited to partner with industry leader Wipro,” said Ambuj Kumar, Simbian CEO and co-founder. “Wipro’s investment and decision to integrate our AI SOC Agent into their comprehensive CyberShield platform is a testament to the transformative power of our technology. Together, we will redefine enterprise security operations, enabling organizations worldwide to achieve significantly enhanced security posture, and operational efficiency at an unprecedented scale.”

Wipro CyberShield

The Wipro CyberShield offering provides managed security services to protect business operations with AI-powered solutions.

The services manage operations and continuously monitor the security posture across clouds, networks, perimeters, endpoints, identities, data, and applications to enhance preemptive cyber defense.

Further, the services and operations include detection, response, and recovery controls to ensure continuous compliance with industry standards.

Among the key capabilities of CyberShield are:

• CyberShield Managed Detection and Response (MDR): This solution identifies threats before they impact your business, and speeds up response times with AI-powered, automated SOC services and security processes.
• CyberShield Exposure Management (XM): Inside-out and outside-in continuous preemptive threat exposure management and control validations to enhance defenses to maintain security posture.
• CyberShield Modern Work Security: Identity and access to data and applications are secured from anywhere, at any time, via a Zero Trust infrastructure without compromising user experience.
• CyberShield Cloud and Network Security: Create and maintain a reduced attack surface, safeguard critical networks, applications, data, and workloads, while maintaining continuous compliance across hybrid cloud environments.

This news comes on the heels of Simbian naming Isaac Lujan as Global VP of Channel and Partnerships to manage the company’s worldwide channel, alliance, and ecosystem program. Learn more about this appointment, as well as other recent leadership changes that have impacted the channel.