Center boosts telecommunications training

With the advent of the information super highway, the Telecommunications Deregulation Act of 1996 and recent advances in technology, the telecommunications industry has undergone unprecedented growth. And even greater technological breakthroughs are predicted in the next decade.

Along with this growth comes the challenge of educating workers so that the telecommunications industry can maintain a competitive edge in the global marketplace. In order to ensure that there will be enough workers to meet the demands of the future, it is important to "train the trainers" now so that students will have the skills and awareness of the career opportunities and challenges that await them in the field of telecommunications.

Currently very few colleges in the Northeast offer curricula to meet the expanding needs of telecommunications-related industries. That need is beginning to be addressed at the National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (NCTT) at Springfield Technical Community College.

NCTT, which was launched in 1996, was funded by Verizon and the National Science Foundation - with STCC in the leadership role - to develop telecommunications curricula at selected colleges in New England. Similarly, New York City Technical College was funded by Verizon to provide leadership in telecommunications education in the state of New York.

The National Center is building upon these activities, and, over a five-year period, will support "ramping up" programs, courses and educational activities at secondary and post-secondary institutions - in concert with telecommunications firms - to address the expanding personnel needs of the industry.

Other educational partners (more than 36) are located at exceptional secondary and post-secondary institutions throughout the Northeast. The center's business and industry partners (also more than 36) are located throughout the Northeast region and across the nation. The educational and industrial collaborators together address the needs of the industry by designing and implementing a new infrastructure for telecommunications technology education - one which can be replicated regionally and nationally.

The National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (NCTT) has formed a regional network of secondary and post-secondary educational institutions (two-year and four-year), leading edge telecommunications corporations, government and private agencies to:

• Monitor emerging telecommunications-related technical trends, applications and innovations;

• Develop relevant curricula and materials to support advanced technical education of the current and future work force of telecommunications-related industries;

• Become a location for internships with industry, in order to "earn while you learn," and to develop a center for idea gestation for industry and government related projects;

• Explore and promote the best educational methods and tools (classroom, electronic, virtual and distance) for delivering world-class technical education and related math and science disciplines in cost-effective ways to diverse populations of learners to ensure national work force development;

• Ensure the continuing technical competency of faculties who teach telecommunications-related programs in the Northeast and nationally;

Among the resources the NCTT grant can provide include:

• Grant-funded faculty workshops and technology transfer conferences.

• Industry-driven curricula in lightwave, wireless, networking and manufacturing in written, electronic, Web-based, classroom and media-enhanced formats.

• Training in telecommunications, based on the new curricula.

• State-of-the-art laboratory experiments and virtual laboratory delivery from laboratories around the nation to enhance resource sharing.

• Telecommunications technician competency-based knowledge standards in a customized graphical interface modality.

• The educational delivery is tailored to meet the needs of traditional, re-career, adult and experiential, physically challenged and distance learners, with online resource clearinghouse information on careers and information in telecommunications technologies.

To date, the center has sponsored five major workshops in equipment, theory, community and parent awareness, experimental approaches to telecommunications learning and curricula development, Internet/distance learning courses, teleconferences and gender and cultural equity issues.

A technology transfer conference on "Telecommunications: A Vision of the Future" was recently held, featuring nationally recognized experts in telecommunications. Four research projects have been started for industrial partners, utilizing students and teachers as paid interns. Both NCTT Newsletters and Technology Update Newsletters have been published and disseminated.

Future programs include a technology transfer symposium, a national conference (teleconference) on telecommunications, publication of interactive CD media for science, math and telecom learning, Internet courses, virtual instrumentation/laboratory experiences via the Internet, telecom management seminars and books which address the subject of telecommunications and related topics.

The National Center invites all inquiries and suggestions via our Website, mail or fax (413)734-0515. The directors can be reached by phone at (413)731-3151.

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Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.

This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DUE 0302548.

Copyright August 2004 STCC Foundation Press All rights reserved. E-Mail the Webmaster with your comments.

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