NEW IT Alliance-December Tech Upload
NEW Digital News
November was a busy month for the NEW IT Alliance! The first week of November, Insight launched their new quarterly magazine, Insights on Technology featuring the NEW IT Alliance and several other organizations making a difference in Northeast Wisconsin’s tech scene. A huge shout out and THANK YOU to Insight for all their work pulling together the magazine. We’re looking forward to the next release in February.
Welcome New Members!
TechTalks
Mid-month, UW-Fox Valley hosted our second TechTalk event with 80 students attending. Students represented a cross section of business, engineering, and computer science pathways at the 2-year institution. Professors and students from both UW Oshkosh and UW-Fox Valley kicked things off by sharing information about their STEM clubs, inviting their fellow students from their sister campuses to join.
Pilar Martiz, Riverview Gardens, and Jeff Kruse, Software Engineer, U.S. Venture delivered a presentation about the implementation of digital agriculture at Riverview Gardens. The non-profit is able to explore the use of technology to help run their agriculture program thanks to a grant from Microsoft. Those involved with the project are learning how leverage data analytics to increase yield while decreasing water and nutrient usage, thanks to the soil and other probes which have been implemented out in the fields.
Craig Doriot, President of Dodl.es and Pound Social, and Zeb Pirkney, VP Marketing of Dodl.es and Pound Social presented about high tech social media. Students learned about social animation and growth hacking. As one of the many tech startups in our region, this team will be an exciting one to watch in months to come!
NEW Connect IT
The next day the NEW IT Alliance was at Lambeau Field for our second annual NEW Connect IT Event. With the ongoing growth in demand for tech skills (keep reading for more on that), it is critical to start teaching students early on about IT careers, who employs them, and where they can go to get a degree in IT. With this in mind, the NEW Connect IT event is designed to connect high school students to employers, colleges, and IT professionals who can explain the various careers. They are even introduced to some of the technologies local companies are using, helping dispel the myth that all the cool tech is in the big cities.
In addition to the many high school and college students, volunteers and companies, we also attracted several seasoned professional from local companies downsizing their IT department looking for jobs – this was the perfect opportunity for other local companies to connect with that talent. In addition, Senator Cowles who represents Wisconsin State Senate district 2, which covers a large part of Northeast Wisconsin west of Green Bay, also stopped by. We were happy to give him a tour and talk about the problems facing companies in finding IT talent.
IT Jobs on the Rise
We continue to see evidence that the number of IT jobs is continuing to grow, and that our work continues to be vitally important. The Wall Street Journal reports that 30% of companies are looking to expand their IT staff next year – especially in cybersecurity, hardware, networking, and software development. This sentiment is echoed by Tech Republic which reported this month that by 2026, there will be a need for 253,000 additional software developers across the US.
Fortunately, we could see an influx of students to local degree programs in IT after Oshkosh was rated #5 Best College Town by Schools.com for 2018.
It might also help that the Governor has declared December 3-9 as Computer Science week in Wisconsin. Microsoft is also supporting Computer Science Week as they partner with Code.org and Skype in the Classroom to host daily 30-minute live sessions with creative professionals who use code to do amazing things. Educators can use the link above to register for the sessions.
During Computer Science Week you can get involved in Hour of Code activities throughout the region. For example, Sheboygan South High School will host an event on Dec 6 at 4-5pm. Bring your own device. Companies are also invited to set up tables to talk to parents and students about computer science careers in their business. You can find additional Wisconsin locations for Hour of Code events on the Hour of Code website.
The high school students were asked to complete a scavenger hunt at the event, with the chance to win a Google Home smart speaker. We picked a winner at random among the completed submissions, and one lucky student at Bay Port High School will now be able to ask his smart speaker about careers and degree pathways in IT.
NEW Connect IT was also an opportunity for a special group of teachers. Fox Valley Technical College brought 8 high school teachers from the region who are undergoing additional education so they can deliver dual credit computer science classes in their home districts. These teachers had opportunities to connect with local employers and IT professionals throughout the day, but also had the opportunity to talk to Kenny Ansel from the Packers IT department who shared what it’s like to work for an NFL IT department and some of the unique challenges they face on game day. He also took the teachers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the IT infrastructure at Lambeau Field.
The growth and success of this event wouldn’t have been possible without the Connect IT sponsors. Thank you to TitleTown, Microsoft, Stellar Blue, and TEALS – we couldn’t have done it without you!
As planning begins for our 2019 event, we will be updating the NEW Connect IT website (NEWConnectIT.com) and communicating here in our newsletter.
Events for School Districts
December 11, from 6-8pm T2 Accelerator is hosting guest speaker Nico Glennon from IBM. Nico will be presenting why “Coding will be the future “New-Collar” job”. This presentation is geared toward a student audience, but anyone with interest in software development should feel welcome to attend! Register here: https://newdigitalalliance.org/events/
Thursday, February 27, Wisconsin School Counselor Association, PUMPCS, Microsoft TechSpark and TEALs, and Counselors for Computing, a project of the National Center for Women &
Information Technology, invite middle and high school counselors to a special session: COUNSELORS FOR COMPUTING: Professional Development in Emerging Careers. More information can be found here: https://newdigitalalliance.org/events/. Space is limited, so if you are interested in learning more about computing careers, contact c4c@ncwit.org, subject: C4C@WSCA to reserve your spot.
High School Business and Information Technology Educator comments on her Experience at NEW Connect IT
“Good day!
Thank you so much to you and your teams for coordinating one of the best and most diverse tech career fairs. Not only did students learn and communicate, their futures now have an extra spark to motivate them to do well in HS and graduate confidently. You showed them a bright light to begin their independent life as successful young adults. As chaperones, we were highly impressed with the professional engagement and time devoted to assist us and bring more opportunities back to our schools, staff, and students. Thank you is not enough to express my gratitude!
Relax and re-group! If this is offered again, we’d love to participate again.
Enjoy your day!!
Michelle Gibson, Sturgeon Bay High School Business and Information Technology Educator”
In the News...
NEW IT Alliance was recently featured in the Green Bay Press Gazette on Nov. 26th, 2018. Nathan Phelps comments on the need of IT talent in the Northeast Wisconsin area, why IT is an exciting career path, and key skills needed to succeed. Phelps discusses that IT is in local demand, “Wisconsin companies are making a push to spread the word: There are numerous information technology jobs available in the state. Businesses say they need IT and technology professionals and those jobs exist in cities large and small and don’t require moving to San Francisco or Boston. It’s a field expected to continue growing.”
Regional News
dMorning Networking Meetup
dMorning is an informal networking meetup event for people who work in the tech and creative fields in and around Northeast Wisconsin.
Our next event will be on Friday, December 14, 2018, from 7:30 – 9:30 am at the new offices of Dealer Inspire, 423 West College Avenue, Appleton, WI 54911. Dealer Inspire is an innovative, scrappy disruptor building unprecedented websites and technology to help car dealerships sell more. Special thanks to Dealer Inspire for hosting our next event!
Though there’s no cost, please RSVP – you can do so with Eventbrite or Meetup or to hi@dmorning.com.
dMorning was started to provide a casual environment for those who work in the technology and creative fields in Northeast Wisconsin to meet, network and have a beverage of choice. The idea is to meet in the morning before the day gets hectic. There are no set rules and no agenda. More information is available at dMorning.com.
Hope to see you there… and bring a friend or colleague!
Bassett Mechanical’s Internships Launch Young Professionals into Successful Career Paths
KAUKAUNA, Wis. — Bassett Mechanical continues to offer internship opportunities in various aspects of our business. These opportunities are a chance for young people to explore different avenues they might be interested in, get exposure to a variety of roles and departments, and get the hands-on training that facilitates personal and professional growth.
Today, we’d like you to meet Emily, our IT intern. Emily has been with Bassett Mechanical for 7 months. At the time she started, Emily had already achieved her technical Help Desk degree and then began pursuing Computer Support, which would focus on replacing hardware as well as software. “I started off doing software development and web design,” said Emily, “but I realized I’d rather help people”.
This IT internship has been a great stepping stone for Emily and has helped her set her sights high. “Having a great manager has helped me to learn how to be a female professional in IT. She has shown me what you can accomplish in this career. She makes me think I might want to be an IT manager someday” Emily states.
Skyward Develops a Coding E-book for Early Learners
We believe that waiting until junior high or high school to build an interest in coding is too late. That’s why Skyward marketing created an e-book to introduce coding to early learners. Paired with vibrant illustrations, THE CODE TWINS is a story in verse designed to get young readers excited about using computational thinking in everyday adventures.
Visit www.skyward.com/codetwins to download the e-book and gain access to a host of great resources for educators, parents, and students.