BILT (Business and Industry Leadership Team)
Soft Skills for All Ages
In 2014, the National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) “BILT” (Business and Industry Leadership Team – an engaged and dedicated group of IT industry experts that meets once a quarter to discuss IT trends, answer faculty questions, and validate entry-level job skills) recommended that IT programs weave “soft skills” training into IT every course. A year…
Read MoreStrategies and Activities to Increase Diversity and Improve Enrollment
Regular blog readers know that the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) is currently steering a pilot program called the “Diversity Summit.” The program kicked off in February with a workshop for select schools from the Convergence College Network (CCN) community of practice. Each participating school sent three attendees – an instructor, an advisor, and an…
Read MoreSecurity Skills Gap Continues
The National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) National Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) has long emphasized the need for IT students to learn security skills. Indeed, the BILT urges that every class include instruction on security. Specifically, since 2015, the BILT has asked instructors to find relevant moments in IT curriculum to ask students “Is…
Read MoreWearable Market Continues to Expand
One of the largest growing markets in the “internet of things” is wearables. A recent Venture Beat article notes a sizable increase in wearables sales. It’s still a relatively small market, but for the second quarter of 2017, 26.3 million wearables were sold worldwide. The leader is the Chinese company Xiaomi, with Apple and Fitbit…
Read MoreTeaching the Internet of Things
Two faculty members associated with the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) recently delivered a standing-room-only conference presentation on teaching the Internet of Things (“IoT”) to IT networking students. Brian Nelson (Lansing Community College) and Bill Saichek (Orange Coast College) spoke to attendees of the 2017 HI-TEC educator conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here are…
Read MorePerspectives and Successes from IT Administrators
The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) spends a lot of time working with IT faculty, whether through professional development events like Working Connections or through quarterly meetings with the 60 schools in the Convergence College Network (CCN) that features best practice sharing. But twice a year, the CTC allows administrators the opportunity to get more…
Read MoreCongratulations to our Tireless BILT Chairman
Matt Glover, the chair of the National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) unique “BILT” (Business and Industry Leadership Team), won the prestigious Industry Recognition Award at this summer’s HI-TEC conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Big congratulations to Matt on this important achievement. Matt – the Chief Technical Officer of Le-Vel Brands – helps the CTC…
Read MoreHI-TEC 2017 Preview
HI-TEC is about a month away and the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) and the Convergence College Network (CCN) are well-represented this year with five panels and workshops as well as a convening following the event. First up, Ann Beheler from the National CTC will be giving a Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) presentation…
Read MoreBusiness Feedback on the Future of IT
Regular readers of this blog know that the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) believes strongly that annual job skills validation meetings with business experts are an essential element in making sure IT curriculum aligns with workforce needs. At these meetings, industry business councils – called “BILTs” (Business and Industry Leadership Teams) by the CTC –…
Read MoreEngaging Your Business Experts
At the recent WASTC Winter ICT Educators’ Conference, the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) hosted a panel discussion on its successful “BILT” (Business and Industry Leadership Team) model that helps energize relationships between community college educators and industry experts. Most community college programs have traditional advisory boards in which business leaders guide programs via annual…
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