Ne-Yo is helping young people become software engineers.
The singer-songwriter has made an investment in San Francisco’s Holberton School, which boasts about selecting students “with no consideration given to gender, nationality, ethnicity or social status.”
Ne-Yo will also help promote diversity in his role as one of the school’s trustees.
“I’m definitely going to be hands on,” the star told Tech Crunch. “I don’t know if i’m going to do every day because there’s this little music career thing that i’ve got going on. So there’s that but I’m definitely going to be hands on.”
Holberton currently has about 30 students in its two-year program but hopes a new round of investments will enable it to accept 100. Students pay no tuition but agree to give the school 17 per cent of their salary for three years if they secure employment after graduating.
“They’re making it easier for underrepresented people in the world of tech. They’re giving them a platform and access to this knowledge that they probably wouldn’t get otherwise,” Ne-Yo told TC. “I think that’s one of the coolest things about this whole situation.”