Sen. Hwang Celebrates Opening of Synchrony Digital Technology Center at UConn Stamford

December 17, 2019

 

STAMFORD, CT – The University of Connecticut and Synchrony, Inc., celebrated the opening of the The Synchrony Digital Technology Center at UConn Stamford in a ceremony on Monday.

The ceremony introduced the Synchrony Digital Technology Center which provides UConn Stamford students an opportunity to work as user-experience designers and software engineers — and learn side-by-side from Synchrony employees on a day-to-day basis. It opened the fall 2019 semester. It is a public-private partnership that equips students with experiential learning and help grow local talent pipelines for Connecticut businesses.

Synchrony, Inc. is headquartered in Stamford, CT, and has 1,000 employees based in the city.  It has over 80.3 million active customer accounts and counts Amazon and PayPal among its clients.  It is a premier consumer financial services company delivering customized financing programs across key industries including retail, health, auto, travel and home, along with award-winning consumer banking products.

“We’re committed to Connecticut’s economic success and ensuring that local students from diverse backgrounds are equipped with the experiences and skills needed to tackle tomorrow’s challenges,” said Margaret Keane, CEO of Synchrony. “Our expanded partnership with UConn will help close the skills gap and prepare students for careers in technology throughout the state.”

Senator Tony Hwang, ranking leader of the CT General Assembly Higher Education and Employment Committee and a member of Governor Lamont’s Workforce Council enthusiastically participated, “Synchrony and UConn are both world class institutions and their partnership and innovation in consumer digital and mobile technology along with their collaborations in CYBERSECURITY education are empowering and visionary.  It is all about jobs, businesses and educating a workforce that will excel in a global marketplace in the 21st century.  I am proud and honor to support Synchrony, UConn and its students.”

UConn and Synchrony established the Synchrony Financial Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity in the fall of 2016, located in Storrs. Synchrony invested $2.2 million in the center, which aims to counter the growing threats of foreign and domestic cybercrime by developing information security talent and leading research to help companies and consumers stay ahead of these threats.

Through that partnership, Synchrony Financial provides an endowment for a Synchrony Financial Chair in Cybersecurity to lead cybersecurity education at UConn and help develop a strong pipeline of information security talent.

In addition to research, Synchrony Financial commits funding toward a Cybersecurity Fellows Program and a scholarship program that provides stipends to attract to UConn graduate students interested in this subject.