Students and faculty at Alabama A&M University are playing a big role in developing apps that help American soldiers operate on and off the battlefield.

With the assistance of students and faculty at Alabama A&M University (AAMU), Yorktown Systems Group (YSG), a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business, is delivering agile technical solutions for the Army backed by Alexandria, Virginia-based CALIBRE Systems, Inc.

The team is building a mobile application that solves a real-world problem. The app, which can support a number of inventory and logistics needs, is planned to go into live beta testing later this summer in San Antonio, Texas.

AAMU has benefitted through increased subcontracting opportunities for the AAMU Rise Foundation. The historically black college and university (HBCU) has also created a job stream for the students who participate in this program.

Tandria Allen, a graduate research associate at Alabama A&M University Rise Foundation, is one of the original students and female graduates of the Alabama A&M computer science master’s program.

Allen credits her experience on the CALIBRE mobile app project for obtaining a systems engineering position at a large government contractor. A key AAMU mission is to provide a pathway for women of color into a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) field in support of the Department of Defense fulfills.

“This program is going great,” said YSG CEO, Bryan Dyer. “I want to credit the performances of CALIBRE Program Manager, Cherlyn McIntee, and Technical/Quality Assurance Lead, Katherine Di Crocco. This Mentor-Protégé agreement between CALIBRE and YSG has been a true success story for all involved,” he said.

With CALIBRE’s support, YSG will be able to pursue prime and subcontracting opportunities in federal and commercial spaces and is on track to becoming Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Maturity Level 2 rated later this year.

“The Mentor-Protégé program is central to CALIBRE’s approach to supporting small businesses, and it has proven to be a resounding success,” said Joe Martore, CALIBRE President & CEO. “Working to develop small businesses’ technical abilities and partnering with historically black colleges and universities each align with our Corporate Objectives to Leverage Technology and Be Good Citizens.”

Since 1991, the Department of Defense Mentor-Protégé Program has encouraged major DOD prime contractors (mentors) to develop the technical and business capabilities of small disadvantaged