Credential

Robert Shumake completed the Harvard Data Science Initiative Agentic AI Intensive

Robert S. Shumake completed the Harvard Data Science Initiative (HDSI) Agentic AI Intensive, a 2.5-week program that ran June 9–25, 2026, earning a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Data Science Review (verification code UTHW-KVJS). His capstone rebuilt the Harvard curriculum for people who will never have access to Harvard — entrepreneurs in Africa and incarcerated people in the American prison system — and became the Smart Money Black AI Executive Program, launching at the National Business League's 126th Annual Conference, August 19–22, 2026, in Atlanta.

The credential

Certificate of Completion

Program: Harvard Data Science Initiative Agentic AI Intensive
Awarded by: Harvard Data Science Review
Credential: Certificate of Completion
Verification code: UTHW-KVJS
Dates: June 9–25, 2026 (2.5 weeks)
Requirement: Capstone project required for completion

The intensive, presented by Harvard Data Science Review, is concentrated training in agentic AI — autonomous systems that plan, reason and execute complex tasks without continuous human direction. The curriculum covers AI agent architecture, prompt engineering, multi-agent systems, and deployment of AI across business operations including content generation, customer acquisition, data analysis and strategic decision-making.

The capstone was not a demo. Shumake studied the Harvard HDSI curriculum and rebuilt it for communities that will never have access to Harvard: entrepreneurs across Africa, and incarcerated people in the American prison system. Not everyone can go to Harvard — but everyone deserves access to the education Harvard provides.

“The same methodology that took me from sweeping floors at Ford to managing $200 million works in AI. The constraint was never intelligence or capital. It was access to information. This program eliminates that constraint.”

Robert S. Shumake

The Smart Money Black AI Executive Program

The capstone became a four-week course with a personal AI Executive Coach, built for entrepreneurs with no technical background. It launches at the National Business League's 126th Annual Conference (August 19–22, 2026, Hilton Atlanta Hotel), themed "Economic Sovereignty," where Shumake presents to more than 1,000 Black business owners across two days. Each participant receives AI training, 1,000 Manus AI credits, a feature in Smart Money Black Magazine, distribution across 10 newspaper platforms, and an international travel certificate on graduation. The National Business League is the nation's oldest Black business organization, founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900.

Free deployment through seven universities and Sacred Study Beyond Walls

In parallel, Shumake is deploying free AI courses through his seven religious universities to communities across Africa, and to federal prisoners through the Sacred Study Beyond Walls program — making Harvard-level AI education available at no cost to those who need it most.

From Ford janitor to Harvard AI graduate

As documented in his Amazon #1 bestselling Climbing Your Inner Mountain: Ten Steps to Reaching Any Goal (Take the Land Publishing, 2013), Shumake began as a janitor at a Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit, listening to business audiobooks for three years while pushing a mop cart. He left Ford and earned $194,000 in his first year in real estate, $600,000 in his second and one million dollars in his third. By 2011, Black Enterprise ranked his firm, Inheritance Capital Group L.L.C. of Southfield, Michigan, tenth nationally among Black-owned private equity firms with $200 million under management across two funds — figures independently verified by KBL L.L.P., Certified Public Accountants and Advisors. The Harvard credential applies that same self-directed learning method to artificial intelligence.

Why the AI adoption gap matters

According to McKinsey research, 79 percent of Black-owned businesses have not yet adopted AI tools, compared with 52 percent of all U.S. businesses. That gap threatens to widen the racial wealth divide as AI reshapes every industry. The response: Harvard-level education, priced for working entrepreneurs, delivered through an institution that has served Black business owners for 126 years.

Common questions

Harvard, agentic AI and access

Did Robert Shumake go to Harvard?

He completed the Harvard Data Science Initiative Agentic AI Intensive, presented by Harvard Data Science Review, June 9–25, 2026, earning a Certificate of Completion with verification code UTHW-KVJS. It is a certified program requiring a capstone project.

What was his Harvard capstone project?

Rebuilding the Harvard HDSI agentic AI curriculum for people outside Harvard's reach — entrepreneurs in Africa and incarcerated people in the U.S. prison system. It became the Smart Money Black AI Executive Program.

What is agentic AI?

Autonomous AI systems that plan, reason and execute multi-step tasks without continuous human direction. The Harvard intensive covered agent architecture, prompt engineering, multi-agent systems and business deployment.

How can Black entrepreneurs access this training?

Through the Smart Money Black AI Executive Program, launching at the National Business League's 126th Annual Conference in Atlanta, August 19–22, 2026, and through free courses delivered by the seven religious universities and the Sacred Study Beyond Walls prison program.

Sources

Harvard Data Science Review Certificate of Completion (Verification: UTHW-KVJS, June 2026)
Black Enterprise, BE100s (June 2011)
Climbing Your Inner Mountain, Take the Land Publishing (2013)
McKinsey research on AI adoption among Black-owned businesses

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