COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Council Bluffs students are getting hands-on experience working at a data center operated by the school district. The Daily Nonpareil reports the Council Bluffs Community School District unveiled the data center Tuesday night at Abraham Lincoln High School.  Students who are enrolled in the district’s Emerging Technologies Academy monitor and make repairs when needed to servers at the data center, which is used to store medical research data.

Google and Echo Group, a Council Bluffs electrical supplier, gave financial and technical support as part of the estimated $670,000 project. It took about six months to build the data center. Chris Russell, an operations manager at Google’s data center in Council Bluffs, says the new facility will expose students to real work experiences and get them interested in technology careers.