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9 Things We Learned at Our Fall Conferences

The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) attended several conferences this fall to make presentations and sit on panels and roundtables; to disseminate information about our grant work at exhibit hall booths, to recruit new member schools to our Convergence College Network (CCN) community of practice, and – when time permits – to attend breakout sessions…

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The Latest and Greatest in IT Industry Trends

As has become custom, a recent conference call meeting with the National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) kicked off with a lengthy discussion of current and future trends in IT.  The goal is to let faculty members also on the call know about the real-world state of the industry.  Where…

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STEM Female Bias Concerns in K-5

We all know women in STEM can be the victim of bias in college classrooms and employer conference rooms and labs.  But a recent article in The New York Times points to research that suggests that this sort of gender bias might extend to the elementary school classroom.  A study in Israel showed that teachers…

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Diversity Challenges in Silicon Valley

A recent article by Vauhini Vara in Fast Company looked at the problem of workforce diversity in Silicon Valley. While the article mostly examines how Pinterest seeks a successful strategy to hire more women and minorities, a similar struggle is underway at a number of high-tech companies. In many cases, the executives understand that there…

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NSF Shares Best Practices

The Department of Labor recently asked the National Science Foundation to provide technical assistance services to DOL “TAACCCT” grantees. (If you haven’t heard the term “TAACCCT,” the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant program was established with the signature of President Barack Obama in early 2010. It set aside $2 billion, which…

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Tomorrow’s IT Worker

Another benefit of the National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) active Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) is when BILT members send us interesting articles and reports.  It’s like having our very own R&D group.  Dell executive Glenn Wintrich recently forwarded us a Deloitte University Press report called “Tech Trends 2015” that outlines several trends that…

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Teaching Soft Skills Doesn’t Have to Be Hard

It’s no surprise that a popular topic at any Convergence College Network (CCN) discussion – especially those involving our Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) – is the value of “soft skills.” It’s one thing for students to get the IT training, but employers are looking for more than technical know-how. As one faculty member…

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A Look Into the Future of IT

Instructors from Convergence College Network (CCN) member schools recently enjoyed a special treat during the HI TEC conference in Portland, Oregon.  NetApp –  a multi-billion-dollar data storage and management company with 12,000 employees around the world – arranged a special presentation and facility tour at its new data center in Hillsboro, just 15 minutes west…

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PHOTOS: Working Connections Think Tank Track Cisco Tour

As part of the special “Think Tank” track of Summer Working Connections, a handful of lucky IT educators boarded a charter bus one hot Thursday afternoon and took a trip across town to visit the Cisco Systems campus in Richardson, Texas.  Cisco executives graciously allowed this “Think Tank” group to visit two facilities, including the…

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Working Connections Think Tank Track Review

What happens when you bring 17 educators together, mix in proven processes and tools and stir in a large dash of imagination and ideas? We call that “The Think Tank”! At the National CTC, we are often asked to share the processes and tools we have developed on business engagement, student recruitment and retention, faculty…

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