Rice University launches online programming for entrepreneurs dealing with COVID-19 closures

biz ed

Rice University will launch online classes next week for small business leaders planning their recovery. Courtesy of Rice University

Houston small businesses and startups have a long road of recovery ahead of them, and Rice University and some of its partners want to help local entrepreneurs prepare for it.

Rice University's Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies has partnered with the Ion — along with the Center for Houston's Future and Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship — to launch the Back In Business Initiative. The program will begin with three courses in the week of April 20 to 24. The three courses are:

"Glasscock's mission has always been to provide education to the residents of Houston," says Robert Bruce, dean of the Glasscock School, in a news release. "We specialize in providing responsive, practical information that will help our constituents when and how they need it most. To assist our struggling Houston small business community during this crisis, we created this trilogy of courses to help analyze their current situation, use creative problem-solving and provide meaningful communications to help them weather this situation."

More classes will be added as needed. The classes have a $25 registration fee, and anyone can enroll online.

"Today's health crisis may have changed many aspects of our daily lives, but it has not affected our commitment to providing the right tools and education to help our community succeed," says Jan Odegard, senior director of academic and industry partnerships at the Ion, in the release. "We all have a role to play in meeting the challenge of COVID-19 and we are excited to be partnering with the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies to support Houston small businesses in this time of uncertainty."

The university also touts OpenRICE as a resource for businesses. The online education platform is available to the Houston community for free. Rice also has a 20 percent discount for all professional studies courses and programs enrollment — with the ability to postpone for up to a year without a fee. This deal runs through April 30.

Rice University's Glasscock school of Continuing Studies is the Ion's first academic partnership to be announced. Courtesy of Rice University

The Ion names inaugural academics partner, course programming for Houston hub

Teaming up

A burgeoning entrepreneurship hub has taken a major step forward in its development with the announcement of its first academic partner and coursework for the partnership.

The Ion has teamed up with Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies to bring programming to the to-be hub, which is expected to open in early 2021.

"We are thrilled to extend our programming to the Ion constituents and Houston's innovation ecosystem," says Robert Bruce Jr., dean of Rice's Continuing Studies school, in a news release. "Continuing education, whether that takes the form of an advanced certificate or a single course, is an important part of the innovation lifecycle, and we are excited to provide this to Houston's entrepreneurs."

The school will offer a mix of online and hybrid courses and certificate programs for personal and professional development. Select courses are slated to begin on January 13, and sign-ups for the courses are live online.

"We know business leaders have many goals and responsibilities and we look forward to supporting them to achieve new levels of success through our responsive and proven programming," Bruce adds.

Some of the first semesters programming is expected to focus on computer and data science education, corporate financial planning, leadership courses, project management, and more, according to the release. Mary Lynn Fernau, the Glasscock School's director of executive and international programs, will manage the partnership.

"As The Ion seeks to increase access to flexible career development in tech and entrepreneurial programming, our partnership with the Glasscock School serves as a model for what professional activation at The Ion can look like at its best," says Gabriella Rowe, executive director of The Ion, in the release.

Trilogy Education and Rice University have joined forces for a new program. Photo courtesy of Rice University

Rice University teams up with workforce accelerator to create a first-of-its-kind fintech bootcamp

Back to school

As Rice University's campus continues to welcome back its students for a new year, the administration has big news about a new, innovative program to share.

Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies has partnered with New York-based workforce accelerator, Trilogy Education, to provide the first fintech boot camp on a college campus, according to a representative from the company.

"Technology skills are becoming foundational for many roles in the finance, energy and life science sectors," says David Vassar, assistant dean of professional and executive programs at the Glasscock School, in a news release. "We have partnered with Trilogy Education to bring to market a boot camp that prepares students to use their technical skills in a wide variety of fintech applications, from robo-advising to cryptocurrency. Whether you are already in finance or are looking for a way to transition into the industry, this program will prepare you to build a meaningful career in the fast-moving world of fintech."

Rice University FinTech Boot Camp is a 24-week program, and the inaugural class began in July. Enrollment for the next round is open from now until November 18. The program will provide students with core coding languages and technical tools that are crucial in the industry as well as pertinent technologies like machine learning and cryptocurrency. The participants will also have career-planning services and will receive a Certificate in Financial Technology from Rice.

The financial industry is booming in Houston, per the release, and companies are in competition for trained talent. Institutions like U.S. Bancorp and JPMorgan Chase have more coding positions open than Apple and Google, the release reveals, and according to data from Burning Glass, the country has added over 1.5 million fintech jobs in the past 8 years.

"The Rice University FinTech Boot Camp comes at a critical moment of need as the city of Houston transforms itself into a national hub for enterprise technology," says Robert Bruce, dean of the Glasscock School, in the release. "We've seen several fintech companies choose Houston to open new office locations and a rising demand from our longstanding industries like energy and manufacturing to transform themselves into technology and data-driven businesses."

Last year, the school launched its first boot camp in partnership with Trilogy. The Rice University Data Analytics Boot Camp has recently grown to expand to a new location in the Energy Corridor, the release states.

"Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies is playing an important role in building the digitally skilled workforce that Houston needs to support a growing innovation economy," says Dan Sommer, CEO and founder of Trilogy Education, in the release. "The Rice University FinTech Boot Camp will help working adults in Houston capitalize on the exploding demand for technology and data skills and spur additional investment in fintech throughout the region."

Ad Placement 300x100

Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Texas cybersecurity co. expands unique train-to-hire model to Houston

job search

It’s increasingly more difficult to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of proprietary data and information in the ever-changing, ever-evolving digital world.

Cyberattacks, including malware, phishing, and ransomware, are becoming increasingly common and sophisticated, posing a consistent threat to a company’s sustainability and bottom line.

To combat that trend, Nukudo, a San Antonio-based cybersecurity workforce development company, is expanding its initiative to bridge the global cybersecurity talent gap through immersive training and job placement to Houston.

“We saw that there was a need in the market because there's a shortage of skilled manpower within the cybersecurity industry and other digital domains,” says Dean Gefen, CEO of NukuDo. “So, our initial goal was to take a large pool of people and then make them to be fully operational in cybersecurity in the shortest amount of time.”

The company refers to the plan as the “training-to-employment model,” which focuses on providing structured training to select individuals who then acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to secure and maintain fruitful careers.

The company identifies potential associates through its proprietary aptitude test, which recognizes individuals who possess the innate technical acumen and potential for success in various cybersecurity roles, regardless of their level of education.

“We take in people from all walks of life, meaning the program is purely based on the associate’s potential,” Gefen says. “We have people who were previously aircraft engineers, teachers, graphic designers, lawyers, insurance agents and so forth.”

Once selected, associates are trained by cybersecurity experts while gaining hands-on experience through scenario-based learning, enabling them to be deployed immediately as fully operational cybersecurity professionals.

The program training lasts just six months—all paid—followed by three years of guaranteed employment with NukuDo.

While in training, associates are paid $ 4,000 per month; then, they’re compensated by nearly double that amount over the next three years, ultimately pushing their salaries to well into the six figures after completing the entire commitment.

In addition to fostering a diverse talent pipeline in the cybersecurity field, NukuDo is creating a comprehensive solution to address the growing shortage of technical talent in the global workforce.

And arming people with new marketable skills has a litany of benefits, both professional and personal, Gefen says.

“Sometimes, we have associates who go on to make five times their previous salary,” says Gefen. “Add to that fact that we had someone that had a very difficult life beforehand and we were able to put him on a different path. That really hits home for us that we are making a difference.

Nulkudo currently has partnerships with companies such as Accenture Singapore and Singapore Airlines. Gefen says he and his team plans to have a new class of associates begin training every month by next year and take the model to the Texas Triangle (Houston, Austin and Dallas)—then possibly nationwide.

“The great thing about our program is that we train people above the level of possible threat of replacement by artificial intelligence,” Gefen says. “But what we are also doing, and this is due to requirements that we have received from clients that are already hiring our cyber professionals, is that we are now starting to deliver AI engineers and data scientists in other domains.”

“That means that we have added more programs to our cybersecurity program. So, we're also training people in data science and machine learning,” he continues.

All interested candidates for the program should be aware that a college degree is not required. NukuDo is genuinely interested in talented individuals, regardless of their background.

“The minimum that we are asking for is high school graduates,” Gefen says. “They don't need to have a college degree; they just need to have aptitude. And, of course, they need to be hungry to make this change.”

2 Houston universities declared among world’s best in 2026 rankings

Declaring the Best

Two Houston universities are in a class of their own, earning top spots on a new global ranking of the world's best universities.

Rice University and University of Houston are among the top 1,200 schools included in the QS World University Rankings 2026. Ten more schools across Texas make the list.

QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), a London-based provider of higher education data and analytics, compiles the prestigious list each year; the 2026 edition includes more than 1,500 universities from around the world. Factors used to rank the schools include academic reputation; employer reputation; faculty-student ratio; faculty research; and international research, students, and faculty.

In Texas, University of Texas at Austin lands at No. 1 in the state, No. 20 in the U.S., and No. 68 globally.

Houston's Rice University is close behind as Texas' No. 2 school. It ranks 29th in the U.S. and No. 119 in the world. Unlike UT, which fell two spots globally this year (from No. 66 to 68), Rice climbed up the charts, moving from 141st last year to No. 119.

University of Houston impresses as Texas' 4th highest-ranked school. It lands at No. 80 in the U.S. and No. 556 globally, also climbing about 100 spots up the chart.

Rice and UH are on a roll in regional, national, and international rankings this year.

Rice earned top-15 national rankings by both Niche.com and Forbes last fall. Rice claimed No. 1 and UH ranked No. 8 in Texas in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 rankings. Rice also topped WalletHub's 2025 list of the best colleges and universities in Texas for 2025.

More recently, in April, both UH and Rice made U.S. News' 2025 list of top grad schools.

In all, 192 U.S. universities made the 2026 QS World University Rankings — the most of any country. Topping the global list is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“The results show that while U.S. higher education remains the global leader, its dominance is increasingly challenged by fast-rising emerging systems,” says the QS World University Rankings report. “A decade ago, 32 American universities [were] featured in the world’s top 100; today, that number has dropped to 26, and only 11 of these institutions have improved their position this year."

The 12 Texas universities that appear in the QS World University Rankings 2026 list are:

University of Texas at Austin, No. 20 in the U.S. and No. 68 in the world (down from No. 66 last year).
Rice University, No. 29 in the U.S. and No. 119 in the world (up from No. 141 last year).
Texas A&M University, No. 32 in the U.S. and No. 144 in the world (up from No. 154 last year).
University of Houston, No. 80 in the U.S. and No. 556 in the world (up from 651-660 last year).
University of Texas at Dallas, No. 85 in the U.S. and No. 597 in the world (down from 596 last year).
Texas Tech University, No. 104 in the U.S. and No. 731-740 in the world (unchanged from last year).
University of North Texas, No. 123 in the U.S. and No. 901-950 in the world (up from 1,001-1,200 last year)
Baylor University, tied for No. 136 in the U.S. and at No. 1,001-1,200 in the world (unchanged from last year).
Southern Methodist University, tied for No. 136 in the U.S. and at 1,001-1,200 in the world (unchanged from last year).
University of Texas Arlington, tied for No. 136 in the U.S. and at 1,001-1,200 in the world (unchanged from last year).
University of Texas at San Antonio, tied for No. 136 in the U.S. and at 1,001-1,200 in the world (unchanged from last year).
University of Texas at El Paso, No. 172 in the U.S. and at 1,201-1,400 in the world (down from 1,001-1,200 last year).

---

This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Houston students develop new device to prepare astronauts for outer space

space race

Rice University students from the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing designed a space exercise harness that is comfortable, responsive, and adaptable and has the potential to assist with complex and demanding spacewalks.

A group of students—Emily Yao, Nikhil Ashri, Jose Noriega, Ben Bridges and graduate student Jack Kalicak—mentored by assistant professor of mechanical engineering Vanessa Sanchez, modernized harnesses that astronauts use to perform rigorous exercises. The harnesses are particularly important in preparing astronauts for a reduced-gravity space environment, where human muscles and bones atrophy faster than they do on Earth. However, traditional versions of the harnesses had many limitations that included chafing and bruising.

The new harnesses include sensors for astronauts to customize their workouts by using real-time data and feedback. An additional two sensors measure astronauts’ comfort and exercise performance based on temperature and humidity changes during exercise and load distribution at common pressure points.

“Our student-led team addressed this issue by adding pneumatic padding that offers a customized fit, distributes pressure over a large surface area to reduce discomfort or injuries and also seamlessly adapts to load shifts — all of which together improved astronauts’ performance,” Sanchez said in a news release. “It was very fulfilling to watch these young engineers work together to find innovative and tangible solutions to real-world problems … This innovative adjustable exercise harness transforms how astronauts exercise in space and will significantly improve their health and safety during spaceflights.”

The project was developed in response to a challenge posted by the HumanWorks Lab and Life Science Labs at NASA and NASA Johnson Space Center for the 2025 Technology Collaboration Center’s (TCC) Wearables Workshop and University Challenge, where teams worked to solve problems for industry leaders.

Rice’s adaptive harness won the Best Challenge Response Award. It was funded by the National Science Foundation and Rice’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry.

“This challenge gave us the freedom to innovate and explore possibilities beyond the current harness technology,” Yao added in the release. “I’m especially proud of how our team worked together to build a working prototype that not only has real-world impact but also provides a foundation that NASA and space companies can build and iterate upon.”

View All Listings

INNOVATIONMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME