Browsing: Education

Read about Mississippi’s educators and student achievements in the state.

Dr. Jessica Pruett, a researcher at The University of Southern Mississippi, who has spotlighted the importance of Mississippi Oyster Research and its past, present and future impacts on the Blue Economy, has received the BioOne Ambassador Award. The award is given to five early-career researchers who display great communication skills and public understanding and awareness of scientific topics.

School is officially out, and summer break has arrived. In usual fashion, camp season has begun. Mississippi has a variety of specialty camps for youth—ranging from fine arts to STEM‑centered programs. Business owner Jennifer Clark has created a one‑stop shop for parents called the Pine Belt Kids Central—a database packed with valuable information on how to involve your children in statewide activities. Below are three summer camps pulled straight from this resource that will help brighten your children’s summer.

Governor Tate Reeves announced the launch of the Mississippi AI Talent Accelerator Program (MAI-TAP). MAI-TAP is a new initiative that fosters the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and related technical capacities across the state’s institutions of higher learning to support the expansion of Amazon Web Services in Mississippi. Additionally, the initiative creates training infrastructure that benefits the broader technology and information infrastructure sectors. The initiative is a partnership between AccelerateMS, the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Mississippi State University is making agricultural aviation history this week by hosting the nation’s first Self-Regulating Application and Flight Efficiency (S.A.F.E.) training program exclusively focused on spray drones. The five-day training at MSU’s Agricultural Autonomy Institute marks a significant milestone in bridging the gap between traditional aerial application and emerging drone technology.

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) recently presented General Joe Spraggins with the 2025 Friendship Oak Award at its annual awards day ceremony held on the Gulf Park campus in Long Beach, in recognition of his ongoing dedication and support of critical projects to advance marine research and sustainability. As the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR), Spraggins’ commitment and partnership with Southern Miss and the Mississippi Gulf Coast have been invaluable.