Dade Enterprise Cloud Computing Initiative

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Industry leaders have identified information technology as a target area for economic growth and development in Miami-Dade County. One of the most in-demand skills for information technology (IT) technicians is enterprise cloud computing. However, higher education has not yet developed comprehensive curricula, educational resources, and information technology training programs that lead to industry certification in cloud computing. To meet this need and serve as a model for other community colleges, this project at Miami Dade College InterAmerican Campus aims to develop and implement a new educational pathway in cloud computing. The student body at Miami Date College InterAmerican Campus includes a large, predominantly low-income, minority student population. As a result, the project has the potential to increase the number of certified cloud computing technicians from underrepresented minority groups to meet local and national workforce needs. The project objectives include: (1) Development and implementation of a professional development program that will train 15 MDC technology faculty members to teach cloud computing courses utilizing project-based learning methodology; (2) Creation of an academic pathway that will align a college credit certificate in Enterprise Cloud Computing to associate and baccalaureate degrees in information systems technology; (3) Recruitment, retention, and graduation of approximately 25 students each academic year in the newly developed Enterprise Cloud Computing program; (4) Development of a K-16 pipeline by offering a Cloud 101 summer boot camp for 40 high school students from traditionally underrepresented populations. In addition to curriculum development, the project also aims to advance knowledge about student success and degree attainment in technology fields and to generate a deeper understanding of factors that lead to improved retention of (STEM) students at Hispanic-serving institutions. This information can benefit other institutions that are committed to advancing underrepresented student success in technology disciplines.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.