Collaborative: Multi-state Community College, University and Industry Collaboration to Prepare Learners for 21st Century Information Technology Jobs

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The University of South Carolina and Stanly Community College in North Carolina will develop a 2+2+2 program with stackable credentials to increase capacity in the information technology job pipeline. This program will enable students from multiple institutions in the Carolinas to learn core IT concepts and master essential hands-on skills using virtual laboratories, preparing them for the job market. The Carolinas share a common pattern of growth and an increased demand for IT labor. The number of job postings related to emerging technologies is fueled by the central role of IT in general business operations and the growing number of technology and manufacturing companies across the Carolinas. Major cities with large demands for IT professionals, such as Columbia in South Carolina and Charlotte in North Carolina, are less than 100 miles apart. This project reinforces the educational links between sister states that have historical connections and common needs. It addresses in a unified manner the strong demand reflected in regional employment statistics. Deployment and testing of the distributed platform and virtual laboratories will be performed in the Carolinas, with the potential to be scaled and deployed nationally.The benefits of this project are five-fold. First, it will enrich secondary-school, two-year, and four-year programs with hands-on virtual laboratories and companion material. The material will cover high-demand fields such as networking, platform technologies, and cybersecurity. Course offerings will extend to Fort Jackson, the largest and most active U.S. Army entry training center in the country. Second, the project will deploy a distributed virtual platform which will provide remote-access capability to laboratory equipment via the Internet. The platform will seamlessly pool and share resources required to run virtual laboratories. Third, by collaborating with leading technology companies such as Cisco Systems, VMware, Palo Alto Networks, and Red Hat, the project will permit students to combine authentic practice with the use of professional tools and platforms, supplementing the coverage of theoretical concepts. Students will also have the option to obtain highly recognized stackable credentials. Fourth, it will develop a training program consisting of weeklong summer workshops to prepare instructors to use virtual laboratories in their classes. Finally, by collaborating with the South and North Carolina Chambers of Commerce and local industry, the project will include internships that allow students to apply real-world IT skills. This transformative technology will potentially provide access to essential IT equipment, and hands-on training to students from hundreds of institutions, facilitating the entrance of technologists into the regional as well as national workforce. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.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.