This month, The Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM) at the University of California, Berkeley, launched the Certificate in Global Digital Infrastructure, the first and only program of its kind in higher education. Created and led by internet infrastructure expert and Professor Nicole Starosielski of UC Berkeley’s Department of Film & Media, this groundbreaking certificate will begin in Summer 2025 and is available to all UC Berkeley students and universities around the world. The curriculum is designed to introduce students to the multifaceted world of global digital infrastructure, encompassing technical, economic, legal, environmental, and social dimensions.
Subsea internet infrastructure underpins contemporary economic and social life, yet it remains invisible. This is a problem for the digital infrastructure industries: data center and subsea cable companies are deeply concerned about the next generation of their workforce. This is also a public problem: as sectors increasingly depend on digital infrastructure and services, a basic literacy of these infrastructures is needed to ensure continuity of service, sustainability, and resilience. Until now, outside of Starosielski’s classes, there has been no defined academic track for students to learn about these systems and enter the field. This program fills that gap, offering a comprehensive, accessible, and future-facing education in the infrastructure behind our digital lives.
“In digital infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence isn't taking jobs—it’s generating so many new ones that the industry can’t keep up,” said Professor Nicole Starosielski. “I spoke with one company recently that is hiring 800 people this year alone. Digital infrastructure is a growth field. Our certificate prepares students to help build sustainable, resilient, equitable, and truly global internet systems.”
The Certificate in Global Digital Infrastructure is a pioneering academic program that offers a comprehensive overview of the critical components of the global Internet's infrastructure, including data centers and subsea telecommunications cables. Developed in collaboration with leading industry organizations, the SubOptic Foundation and Infrastructure Masons (iMasons), the program aims to equip students with cutting-edge knowledge and skills essential for the digital infrastructure sector.
The program offers a holistic approach, covering the data centers where information is stored and computation occurs; the subsea networks that transmit 99% of data traffic between continents; and infrastructures such as Internet Exchange Points (“IXPs”), Points of Presence (“POPs”) and colocation facilities, where networks are interconnected. The curriculum covers components, business models, design/build, operations, and maintenance, alongside the impacts of/on economies, geopolitics, artificial intelligence, and the environment.
All classes in the certificate program are project-based and facilitate collaboration between students from many disciplines and backgrounds. No prior experience in digital infrastructure, computer science, or engineering is needed, and students from all fields–from sciences to liberal arts–are welcome to participate.
The curriculum is also supported by key industry partnerships with Data Center Dynamics, Telegeography, and the National Data Centre Academy, which ensures the content is in alignment with current digital infrastructure industry practices.
All courses will be guided by Professor Nicole Starosielski and will feature regular guest lectures from data center and subsea cable experts. With Starosielski, SubOptic Foundation President Erick Contag will co-teach “How to Build a Global Internet” and policy expert Joseph Keller will co-teach “Tech Wars.”
All courses will be offered online in both a synchronous and asynchronous format. Each class is six weeks long.
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For more information about the program and list of speakers, including information on industry and academic partners, please visit the program website here
Industry Partners:Data Center Dynamics (DCD), Infrastructure Masons (iMasons), National Data Centre Academy, SubOptic Foundation, TeleGeography
Academic Partners:College of Computing, Data Science, and Society (UC Berkeley), College of Engineering (UC Berkeley), College of Environmental Design (UC Berkeley), Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley), School of Computer and Data Sciences (University of Oregon), School of Information (UC Berkeley)