HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –Marshall University and Intuit are partnering up to advance education and drive economic growth in West Virginia.
Toney Stroud, VP of Strategic Initiatives at Marshall University
They made the announcement of the partnership Tuesday morning in the Encova Auditorium at the Brad D. Smith Center for Innovation and Business. The partnership has three main focuses, expanding the tech talent pipeline between Marshall and Intuit, the creation of Intuit’s Prosperity Hub/Internship and helping integrate financial education for college and high school students.
With Intuit wanting to bring the hub to Huntington, the university thought it would be a good idea to put the hub in Marshall’s $250 million Innovation District.
Toney Stroud, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Marshall says that they’ve already have the Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation and are continuing to make headway on the new Cybersecurity Center. He said that the hub will just add onto what they are trying to achieve with the Innovation District.
The Prosperity Hub is expected to help generate 250 jobs.
Stroud said this gives Marshall students and Huntington residents the opportunity to have a career in this field.
“We’re very excited about this and we think it’s going to be a great opportunity for our students and people in our community who are looking for employment in this field,” he said.
With the partnership they have already begun helping students step into a tech career, with an internship with Intuit TurboTax that was launched this spring semester with only 50 students participating. In the internship students would be the first point of contact when they need help online.
“A great learning opportunity for our students, flexible hours,” Stroud said. “Ultimately this will grow into year-round employment with the individuals working in the center.”
They hope that the internship program will expand to about 200 students being able to get hands-on experience and learning opportunities.
Brad Smith, current Marshall President and former CEO/President at Intuit says that the partnership is a milestone for the university but also the surrounding community.
This prosperity hub will be an anchor in our emerging Innovation District,” Smith said in a news release. “This hub will create opportunities for our students to have the chance to work, to engage and connect with our community. In doing so, they will get access to year-round jobs that will allow them to earn while they learn, while gaining very important real-world experience.”
The Prosperity Hub will be located on 4th Avenue in the Innovation District and is expected to be opened this fall.