Three community colleges are collaborating with an area four-year college to educate and prepare students from low-income and underrepresented communities to compete for the many documented high-tech, high-paying information technology (IT) jobs. This goal is achieved by accomplishing the following objectives: (1) Increasing recruitment of students from local communities into associate and undergraduate programs in computer networking; (2) Increasing collaboration with industry and governmental agencies through capstone projects, internships and workshops; and (3) Integrating industry standard simulation tools into the networking curriculum to improve the quality and scope of the education provided.
Expected outcomes of this project are: (1) Increasing the overall recruitment of students into computer networking programs at each participating institution by 10% each year, and the number of women students in all participating institutions by at least 10 (double the current total) within a three year period; (2) Developing 15 capstone projects in collaboration with industry and governmental agencies; (3) Placing a minimum of 50 students into summer internship positions in industry and governmental agencies; (4) Increasing the number of students being placed into IT jobs by 10% each year; (5) Attaining 80% student satisfaction with the use of simulation tools in networking courses; and (6) Highlighting three employer sponsored networking capstone projects using simulation tools each year at the capstone festival.
This project aimed to educate and prepare students from low-income, underrepresented communities in the Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties to compete for the high-tech, high-paying computer science and information technology job opportunities in the Monterey region and Silicon Valley. To accomplish this, the project focused on three specific areas including: Increasing recruitment of students from local communities into associate and undergraduate programs in computer networking. Increasing collaboration with industry and governmental agencies through capstone projects, internships, and workshops. Integrating industry standard simulation tools into the networking curriculum to improve the quality and scope of the education provided. At the conclusion of the funded project, MBANEC has resulted in the following outcomes: Intellectual Merit Work from this project has resulted in the development of a successful internship program model for computer science and information technology students that both enhances student learning and adds value to industry host organizations. This end-to-end program includes preparation, placement, mentoring, and an internship symposium, helping ensure student interns get the most out of their experience. Additionally, the project has engaged a community of partner host organizations who have provided real?world projects, offered mentoring, and contributed over 50 percent of the funds needed to pay the interns each summer. Seventy-six student interns from both 2- and 4- year colleges and sixteen host organizations have participated in the internship program since its launch in 2009. Broader Impact In addition to tackling the specific, measurable outcomes (outlined below) that fall under the original scope of work for this project, MBANEC has been a seed for significant changes in computer science education in the region. The efforts of the project have resulted in bringing together a community of k-12 educators, college and universities, existing STEM and CS outreach programs, and industry organizations who are interested in increasing the number of students getting into and graduating from computer science and information technology degree programs. These relationships have enabled multiple collaborations on grant applications, outreach activities, summer camps, internships, and academic projects. One major new project that came out of the lessons learned from and partnerships built through the efforts of this ATE project is the CSIT-In-3 program, which enables students to earn a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Information Technology in three years. CSIT-In-3 was awarded an NSF STEP grant (#1317649) and will have a significant impact on recruiting, retaining, graduating, and employment of traditionally underrepresented students in computer science and information technology. Additionally, a private foundation has committed to provide substantial scholarships for students in the program. Project outcomes in specific areas of focus include: Recruitment Through 49 outreach events MBANEC program staff reached over 1800 students and educators, mostly at the high school and community college levels. Increased overall recruitment of students into computer networking programs at the four participating institution by an average annual growth rate of 6%. Increased the total number of women students in all participating institutions by an average annual growth rate of 10%. Collaboration In the first three years of the project, fifteen students did industry-sponsored capstones: nine of them were with the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), two were with Partners for Peace, and one each was with E-Fuel Corporation, Defense Manpower Data Center, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institutes (MBARI), and the Deter Lab (University of California, Berkeley and University of Southern, California). In summers 2009-2013, 76 students were placed in 8-12 week summer internship positions in industry and governmental agencies. Feedback from mentors and interns indicates that this internship program better connected industry with the local community and its higher education institutions, helped employers to establish "a pipeline of talent," and gave interns an opportunity either help their host organization be more efficient or fulfill needs that employees did not have the resources (e.g., time) to complete. In addition to placing interns, this project developed a model for an end-to-end internship program including identifying and securing internship opportunities; selecting, preparing, and matching students with positions; monitoring student progress during the internship; and holding an internship symposium for students to present projects at the conclusion of the experience. Industry Standard Simulation Tools Since 2010, the project has developed eight simulation tool lab activities using IT Guru Academic Edition for use in the community colleges and CSUMB networking classrooms. Three significant networking capstone projects used simulation tools including: Salinas Metro WiFi Proposal using OPNET, DTN Routing Protocol using Opportunistic Network Environment (ONE) simulator, and ProPHET Protocol using Opportunistic Network Environment (ONE) simulator.
