Sinclair Community College Selected to Join National Information Technology Innovation Center

Sinclair Community College has been selected to join a new national center focused on creating and scaling up the high-demand training needed to fuel the country’s technology-enabled economic growth.

The National Information Technology Innovation Center (NITIC) will work with employers, community colleges across the country, and others to prepare highly skilled technicians through credential programs that take two years or less to complete. Sinclair Community College is joining Collin College (McKinney, Texas), Lone Star College (Houston, Texas), and Maricopa Community Colleges (Phoenix, Arizona) in the NITIC. Columbus State is the lead institution.

Funded through the National Science Foundation as part of its Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, the NITIC will be the sole ATE national center focused on IT education. There is enormous demand for IT training, as technician jobs in STEM-enabled industries are expected to grow at double the pace of average U.S. job growth over the next 10 years.

“Sinclair Community College is proud to join this innovative effort which will play a crucial role in America’s tech economy,” said Kyle Jones, Chair/Professor – Sinclair Community College Computer Science and Information Technology Department. “This initiative aligns with Sinclair’s mission to find the need and endeavor to meet it by providing our students with a world-class education and ensure they are well-prepared for the ever-evolving landscape of information technology. We look forward to collaborating with the NITIC partners in this endeavor and making a significant impact on the future of IT education and innovation.”

“The NITIC partner institutions bring deep experience advancing IT education outcomes within their respective regions, leveraging both NSF and other innovation funding,” said V. Celeste Carter, director of the NSF’s ATE program. “The launch of NITIC will support industry need for the skilled technical worker in the rapidly changing U.S. IT industry. NITIC will advance and support IT education by engaging the diverse, dynamic network of community colleges across the country.”

Key components of the NITIC include:

• The development of a national Business Industry Leadership Team to align future community college curriculum with employer demand, scaling up relationships at super-regional levels to national collaboration.
• The creation of an IT Innovation Network to benchmark best practices and emerging ideas to advance IT education nationally, which will serve as an incubator for leading-edge curriculum.
• The syndication of instructor training resources to address current and future IT competencies.
• The promotion of recruitment best practices to increase the participation of women, underrepresented minorities and veterans in IT careers.

Sinclair Community College offers more than 20 information technology degrees and certificates designed to prepare students for rewarding, lucrative technical careers. To learn more about these Sinclair programs, visit Sinclair.edu/academics/divisions/BPS/CIS.

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