LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The University of Little Rock on Wednesday announced the creation of the Consortium for Cyber Innovation.

It’s a partnership with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, The Forge Institute and UA Little Rock.

The consortium will be a regional hub for emerging technologies in Arkansas.

It’s the first of its kind, between academic and private sectors and is said to bring higher-paying jobs for Arkansas.

“Both campuses already have outstanding undergraduate and graduate Computer Science programs, cybersecurity resources and world-class faculty. We`re excited to lend our expertise to this very important endeavor which will help fill the coming 3.4 million job gap,” CEO and founder of Forge Institute Lee Watson said.

The partnership has been years in the making.

There are currently over 14,000 cyber-related jobs in Arkansas.