STCC develops curricula in fiber optics technology

The Union-News and Sunday Republican. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
1998
Fenna Hanes, Guest Column

Through history, each new wave of information technology has overtaken the last. Wire telephony replaced wire telegraphy, coaxial cable replaced copper wire, satellites overtook coaxial cables and now, in many instances, fiber optics is superseding satellites. No one knows the full potential of fiber optics technology. But one thing that appears certain is that the fiber optics and related telecommunications and photonics industries are poised for growth.

Today, a single fiber optic line can provide all the essential "channels" for an array of communications functions from telephone and faxes to security alarms and computer data links. The lightweight cable also has important applications in television, electric power generation, transmission and distribution of energy, broadcasting and medicine.

In Massachusetts alone, the burgeoning telecommunications industry grew from about $11 billion in sales in 1993 to nearly $43 billion in 1996, according to a study conducted for the Massachusetts Telecommunications Council by Craig Moore, a professor of finance and operations management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

During that period, telecommunications businesses added 34,465 new jobs in Massachusetts - nearly one of every five new jobs created in the Bay State - bringing total employment in the industry to 90,876, according to the study. At least 30,000 additional Bay Staters manage telecommunications networks or provide telecommunications services though they work in other industries.

Nationally, demand for technicians in the photonics industry, of which fiber optics is a subset, is projected to grow from today's approximately 345,000 employees to 743,000 by the year 2000, according to a 1994 survey by the Center for Occupational Research and Development.

As the 1990's dawned, less than a handful of New England colleges offered any curricula in fiber optics. Where would the fast-growing industry find skilled technicians?

In 1995, the New England Board of Higher Education received support from the Advanced Technological Education program of the National Science Foundation for the Fiber Optic Technology Education Project, or FOTEP. The goal: to support the burgeoning New England fiber optics and photonics industries by helping high school teachers and two-year and four-year college and university faculty introduce new fiber optics curricula into existing educational programs.

The FOTEP concept was to "teach teachers through a combination of weekend introductory workshops followed by week-long workshops over a three-year period.

From the start, FOTEP was designed to be fully collaborative effort. Three experienced faculty members, Nicholas Massa, Springfield Technical Community College; James Masi, Western New England (now at Springfield Technical Community College); and Elias Award, the Fiber Optic Association and a former Wentworth Institute of Technology faculty member, formed the nucleus of the project team with assistance from a representative of the education committee of the New England Fiber Optic Council, a regional trade association.

FOTEP workshops featured lectures, technical instruction through laboratory exercises, product demonstrations by industry representatives, and industry site visits. To help participants implement what they learned in the workshops, FOTEP instructors provided technical assistance throughout the duration of the project.

FOTEP and telecommunications initiatives at New England educational institutions have borne fruit.

In September 1997, the National Science Foundation's ATE program approved a five-year multimillion grant to Springfield Technical Community College to create a new National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (NCTT) - a partnership among NEBHE, Springfield Technical Community College, Hudson Valley Community College in New York, Minuteman Regional Technical High School in Massachusetts and Verizon Corp.

The center, directed by James Masi, is located at the STCC Technology Park, across the street from the Springfield Technical Community College campus. Building on the FOTEP professional development model, NCTT will develop new curricula and teaching materials for high school and associate and bachelor's degree programs in telecommunications technology. This important initiative will reach across the Northeast region to prepare students for jobs in the rapidly growing telecommunications industry. Curriculum and teaching materials will also be disseminated nationwide.

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.

Springfield Technical
Community College

The ICT Center c/o STCC, One Armory Square, PO Box 9000, Suite 1, Springfield, MA 01102-9000
(413) 755-6550 (phone) | (413) 755-6325 (fax)