College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) Business Partners
Maryalicia Johnson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Selected as a Rapid Talk at the NSEC 2016 National Conference
Program Activities Type Conferences
Journal Clubs/Brown Bags
Teaching Circles/Learning Communities
Workshops
Program Components
Advising and Mentoring
Diversity/Inclusion
Informal Education
Scholarships
Student Engagement
Institutional Systems:Degree Program Development
Outreach:Marketing Campaign
Outreach:Public Outreach
Professional Development:Curriculum Development
Supporting Students:Internships
Supporting Students:Mentoring Program
Grants
Workstudy
Target Audience
First Generation College Students
Graduate Students
Transfer Students
Undergraduate Majors
Undergraduate Non-Majors
Underrepresented Minority Students
Program Point of Intervention
College/School
Program Description
UNC Charlotte has the largest number of IT students in the Carolina's and one of the largest in the nation through the College of Computing and Informatics (CCI). CCI is a recognized leader in utilizing industry partners to build T-Shaped talent at scale. In 2016, CCI was recognized at the National Academy of Sciences during the 2016 T-Summit for "Developing T-Shaped Talent at Scale". Currently, the CCI Business Partners program has nearly 50 companies that work hand-in-hand with the College to provide career prep and workforce readiness to the students. Students work with the Business Partner companies/employers to practice professional development skills, and the result is a robust IT talent pipeline to support the economic development of the whole region.
Program Purpose
Answer the call of our Industry Partners and make our students more workforce ready upon graduation.
Build T-Shaped talent that is able to use soft skills and real-world skills to accomplish technology innovation and projects.
Program Goals
1. Create the largest IT talent pipeline to build the economic development of the Charlotte region.
2. Create a robust internship/jobs pipeline for our students/graduates
3. Offer hands-on training in addition to CCI curriculum
Program Activities
Provide over 30 career prep sessions and accentuate soft skills building each semester; including partner bingo, networking gamification, resume building, mock interviews, high achievers and awards recognitions.
Requires large industry partnerships to support our large employment needs of students.
Notes and Tips
Do: Invite Industry Partners in to utilize the most current trends/applications
Do: Invite students to think outside of the box and get to know the company representatives before they graduate.
Don't:Spread your resources to thin and think strategically
Evidence of Success
In 2016 We won a Blue Diamond award for being #1 IT talent provider in Charlotte. We have had an average of 487 students involved in internships with industry partners and an average of 23 career recruiters working along our faculty and staff per week.
Future Work
Advance the development of the Corporate Relations STARS where, top students will work up to 10 hours per month @ $10 per hour. Depending on their progress, they will have the opportunity for more hours, scholarship recommendations, badges, partner recommendations. They will be part of University Professional Internship Program UPIP. This sponsored internship program works to develop and practice professional development skills like introductions, customer service, confidence building, ice breakers, peer to peer mentoring, career building exercises, all while operating under a diversity and inclusion teamwork mindset. The program works around each student's individual and course requirements to complement their CCI education.