NEW IT Alliance – October Tech Upload
NEW Digital News
October has arrived, which means the fall harvest has been brought inside and the garden and Mother Nature start to settle down for their winter nap. However, here in Northeast Wisconsin and at the NEW IT Alliance, it means that educational and networking events are starting to ramp up!
From an Alliance perspective, the rest of October promises to be rather quiet with a few panel discussions at local colleges and final preparations for the NEW Connect IT event on November 14 being our main focus. If you have not already registered for this event, we encourage you to do so soon. The event is focused on connecting employers with their future workforce – both immediate and long term. College students and community members looking for opportunities in IT will be attending. Employers can collect resumes and hold preliminary interviews on site. The NEW IT Alliance will be bussing high school students from across Northeast Wisconsin, and TEALS will be bringing students from their Madison and Milwaukee schools to connect with employers and IT professionals to learn about the field. This is a great opportunity to promote your company brand and the technologies you use with the future employment pool.
Learning and networking are the topic for many organizations this month. Continue reading to learn more about other opportunities to engage with students and learn more about technologies that are changing how we work. Also, check out our events page on our website to learn more about these exciting activities happening near you.
- WIT strategy sessions
- UWO IS club networking night
- Fox Valley BI and analytics meetup
- How AI is changing your marketing
- How AI is changing the customer experience
NEW CS Advisory Board
At the end of September, the NEW IT Alliance kicked off the first ever region wide computer science advisory board. The NEW CS Advisory Board meetings are designed to help identify gaps and solutions to preparing our workforce for a global digital economy. In collaboration with Microsoft’s TechSpark, the NEW IT Alliance shared baseline data and regional challenges with attendees, and helped define what computer science is along with the role of an advisory board. Hortonville High School then presented the significant changes they have made since starting their advisory board late last school year. During the workshop portion of the meeting, school districts mapped out their computer science education pathways from kindergarten thru high school, including any out of school activities they may offer. They also mapped out their local advisory boards – who they want to sit on them, when their first meeting will be, and goals for the first meeting. In all, nearly 60 people participated, including superintendents and staff from thirteen districts around Northeast Wisconsin, six regional colleges and universities, and several regional employers. A huge THANK YOU to those who traveled from as far away as Sheboygan and points in between to participate in the meeting. Our next meeting will be on December 4 from 2:30 – 4:30 pm at the FVTC Bordini Center. We will report on progress from our schools as well as look at what challenges they are facing and how we can work as a region to help resolve them.
NEW IT Alliance TechTalk
On October 2, the NEW IT Alliance launched its first TechTalk event hosted at UW Oshkosh. Over 50 students and community members connected to learn about Blockchain, AI, and mixed reality technology. Students from information systems, interactive web management, engineering, and marketing programs also spent time networking with employers who attended the event. Participants were surprised to learn about the technologies local companies are using – many commented on how they always assumed that these technologies were still out in the future or at best were being leveraged by companies in Silicon Valley, and not here in Northeast Wisconsin. They were also surprised at the diversity of companies using the technologies, and did not expect to hear that mixed reality (augmented and virtual reality) is used in manufacturing, or that blockchain is being used by Walmart! Thank you to our guest speakers: Matthew David from QBE, Greg Levenhagen from Skyline, and Ivor Addo from UW Oshkosh! Planning has already started for our next TechTalk to be hosted on November 13 at UW Fox Valley from 5-7pm. Feel free to join us and learn about other exciting technologies and connect with local students. Registrations will be open soon.
Regional News
Stellar Blue - How AI is Changing your Marketing
Join Stellar Blue Technologies free workshop and learn about the basics of artificial intelligence and how AI has already impacted our lives and how it will continue to help your businesses strategies grow in the years to come.
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UWO Information Systems Club Networking Night
- Tuesday, October 16th from 3:00 – 5:00 PM
- Alumni and Welcome Conference Center
- Paul Hager, CEO and Owner of ITP – Information Technology Professionals
- Jim Dobinski, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Stellar Blue Technologies
- Business casual, business cards are encouraged
ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing
This prize is designed to recognize talented high school students intending to continue their higher education in the areas of computer science or technology. Up to four winners will be selected annually and each will be awarded a $10,000 prize which will be administered through the financial aid department at the university the student will attend. The application period is open now and will close January 5, 2019. Winners are expected to be announced in February 2019.
High School Teacher Scholarships for Advanced Degrees in IT
UW Oshkosh and their concurrent enrollment program (CAPP) have funds to help teachers earn advanced degrees in Computer Science. Educators that receive funds to pay for a portion (or all) of their graduate credits will be expected to work with UW Oshkosh to offer Computer Science 221 (3 Credit course) to their high school students through CAPP. Students at some schools may then have access to a 3-year Computer Science degree from UW Oshkosh.
Random Lake Innovation Lab
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – On August 29th, the Random Lake School District revealed their new Innovation Lab to the public at their Back to School Ice Cream Social. Parents, students, and community members were invited to view the lab which features state of the art technology in collaborative work spaces. The lab is designed to accommodate Random Lake’s youngest learners all the way up through high school and community groups.
The technology acquired allows for students to use their laptops and cast images on monitors located at each table. A conference table with an interactive monitor allows for images to be displayed in view throughout the room.
All teachers will be trained on how to utilize the technologies and can reserve the lab to use with their students as well as for professional development opportunities. Community groups and employers are invited to take advantage of the technologies the lab has to offer.
NeuWave’s path from startup to acquisition
APPLETON, Wis. – The rise of NeuWave Medical from a fledgling cancer-fighting company in Wisconsin to its acquisition by an arm of Johnson & Johnson will be examined at the Thursday, Oct. 11 meeting of the Tech Council Innovation Network in Appleton.
This Tech Council Innovation Network luncheon is in partnership with the Forum for Innovation, which will focus on high-growth companies in the region, and NEW North, the regional economic development group. It will be held at the Fox Valley Technical College D.J. Bordini Center, 5 N. Systems Drive, conference center BC112A.
Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., lunch at noon and the presentation at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $10 for individual members, students and returning veterans, $20 for general admission and included for Tech Council corporate members. Click here to register.
Second Annual STEM Innovation Summit
The second annual STEM innovation Summit, hosted by the Einstein Project, sponsored in-part by Carolina Biological, is taking place at UW-Green Bay’s Weidner Center on Thursday, November 8th from 8am to 4pm.
The day is scheduled with inspiring, informational and conversational presentations with featured speakers and panel discussions; followed by audience question/answer period. Guest speakers at this time include, Dr. Amy D’Amico, lead of the diversity initiative at Smithsonian Science Education Center, along with Michelle Schuler, Manager Tech-Spark Wisconsin, and Adrienne Hartman, President Women In Technology, who will be talking about computer science career pathways. Kevin Anderson, Wisconsin’s State Science Coordinator from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, will be facilitating the panel discussions that address closing the achievement gap among diverse populations in STEM education and the critical nature of access for all students to high-quality STEM education – supporting a STEM-literate society and strong workforce.
This summit is not only an opportunity for education leaders to engage in promoting excellent K-12 STEM initiatives, but also a chance to network and learn about new opportunities.
ENVISION 2018, How AI is changing the customer experience
AI is delivering real value in business and is changing the world as we know it. It’s being implemented across all industries and business functions creating unprecedented efficiencies in human productivity. Organizations that successfully apply AI within their business will be able to innovate and compete more effectively while delivering an unrivaled customer experience.
At Envision 2018 you will hear inspirational talks from thought leaders that are passionate about AI and the technologies driving business forward. Join us for a day of thought-provoking, educational sessions designed to kick your AI initiative into gear. AI is moving fast … don’t fall behind!
Come join EDCI and see how AI is changing the customer experience. Refer to flyer below and link to more information!
