Key takeaways
- The partnership between UCLA Extension and SoLa Foundation will bring tuition-free UCLA Extension programming to South Los Angeles.
- The collaboration will offer workshops and continuing education courses in high-demand fields and topics, including AI, product design, storytelling, entrepreneurship and project management.
- Beginning in fall 2026, participants will embark on a learning experience for three academic quarters that includes an exploratory workshop, followed by a credit-bearing course aligned with their discovered interests and finishing with a project management course.
UCLA Extension and the SoLa Foundation celebrated the launch of a partnership to bring tuition-free UCLA Extension programming directly to South Los Angeles, expanding access to university-level education and workforce development opportunities for young adults across the city.
The announcement took place last Thursday at the SoLa Foundation's new AI & Entertainment Center in the Crenshaw neighborhood, nestled just south of Leimert Park Village. The partnership delivers on a promise from both UCLA and SoLa to expand access to education and meet the needs of all Angelenos.
"This is more than an agreement; this is a monumental partnership that will help individuals all across Los Angeles, and specifically here in South L.A. We are so proud to be a partner," Dean of the Division of Continuing Education and UCLA Extension Eric Bullard said. "This partnership is uniquely special because of the location, which allows us to be able to help underrepresented populations that may never have had access, or didn't think they could have access, to institutions like UCLA."
Launching this fall through UC Excelerator @ UCLA Extension, the collaboration will offer workshops and continuing education courses in high-demand fields and topics, including AI, product design, storytelling, entrepreneurship and project management. Beginning in fall 2026, participants will embark on a learning experience for three academic quarters that includes an exploratory workshop, followed by a credit-bearing course aligned with their discovered interests and finishing with a project management course. The program will conclude with a special engagement event on the UCLA campus to connect participants to their university community.
"Through this partnership, a young person can walk through our doors, discover a new interest, gain relevant skills, earn transferable college credit and begin seeing themselves as innovators, entrepreneurs, creative professionals and technology leaders without having to leave this community," Executive Director of SoLa Foundation and CIO of SoLa Impact, Sherri Francois, said. "Do you know how big of a deal that is? It is so powerful."
Courses will be hosted primarily at the SoLa AI & Entertainment Center, which opened in May 2026 and serves as the foundation's innovation hub for workforce development initiatives across entertainment, production and more. Several courses will be offered at The Beehive, a cultural campus in South L.A. that is home to SoLa's Technology and Entrepreneurship Center Powered by Riot Games, which provides educational resources and technology programming for local students.
Tanika Vickers, SoLa director of workforce development and programming, noted that the more than year-long planning process to solidify the agreement included vital community feedback so that the program reflected the community's wants and needs. "That's been the greatest gift of this partnership to me," she added.
This collaboration is based on the UC Excelerator @ UCLA Extension model, which launched in 2024, providing no-cost courses in high-demand career areas to provide access to a UC educational experience for students who may not otherwise have attended one of the University of California campuses.
Workshops and courses were chosen specifically to meet the current professional moment and garner interest from the public. Offerings will include "Designing From Culture: South LA Stories in Footwear," "Level Up Your Business: Turn Ideas into Impact," and "AI Technologies in Marketing: Tools and Applications."
"Los Angeles has always been a city of dreamers and a city of ambition, reinvention and possibility," Bullard said. "But we know talent and determination are not always enough. To be able to give this opportunity here at this location without having to travel to our campus in Westwood or elsewhere will help really move the needle."
"Today's signing marks the kind of partnerships our communities deserve," Francois said. "We are so proud to welcome UCLA Extension into the SoLa AI & Entertainment Center, and we are so excited about what we are going to build together."
The SoLa Foundation, a nonprofit affiliate of SoLa Impact, aims to improve the lives of South L.A. residents and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by providing opportunities for education and economic mobility. SoLa provides the community with skills-based technology programming, as well as scholarships and career development opportunities for underinvested communities to ensure Angelenos get increased access to jobs, mentorship and placement in the most competitive fields of business.
