UMass Boston Receives $3 Million National Science Foundation Grant for Advanced Technology Education Center

The University of Massachusetts Boston has been awarded a $3 million grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a regional center for advanced technology education in Boston to help meet the projected demand for skilled information technology workers in the Commonwealth.

The Boston Area Advanced Technology Education Connections (BATEC) partnership will link industry, the university, three community colleges, and secondary schools in the Boston metropolitan area to create a regional information technology (IT) education system that attracts students to IT careers, provides them with cutting-edge training, and supplies a skilled IT workforce to the Commonwealth and the nation.

"We are thrilled NSF has recognized this partnership's work to serve students at the secondary, community college, and university levels, as well as the business community," said UMass Boston chancellor Jo Ann Gora. "Creating a regional technology center is a terrific opportunity for us to further our mission of outreach and education through an innovative technology partnership."

The $3 million NSF award marked the culmination of two years of planning by the BATEC partners, which include the university, as well as Bunker Hill Community College; Middlesex Community College; Roxbury Community College; TechBoston, a technology-focused program of study in the Boston Public Schools; and the Metropolitan School-to-Career Partnership, an IT training initiative encompassing ten secondary schools on the Boston rim.

"This project represents a unique opportunity to expand and connect the information and communication technologies in our Boston-area public institutions," said Deborah Boisvert, IT Curriculum Coordinator at UMass Boston's Division of Corporate, Continuing and Distance Education, which will administer the grant. "Faculties across the partner institutions are excited about collaborating to create the best learning environment for our region's students."

BATEC will focus on three goals: to refocus IT education to create multiple entry and exit points; to expand regional professional development opportunities for IT educators at all levels; and to expand the capacity of the region to attract students from diverse backgrounds to IT training and help them gain employment. The center will create a program model that can be used in other regions of the country.

Programs will be guided by recognized IT skill standards set by the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies as well as relevant skill and knowledge sets developed by the Education Development Center, Inc. in Newton, Massachusetts. BATEC partners will localize the standards and use them to guide course content, assessment, and training pathways. They will also develop flexible IT training programs and collaborate closely with industry to keep pace with IT innovations.

A team from the National Science Foundation (NSF) conducted a site visit on February 24 and 25 to determine the capacity of the region to carry out this endeavor. This included visits to Bunker Hill and Roxbury Community Colleges to meet with faculty and students, a forum at UMass Boston for over 30 education shareholders, including Chancellor Gora and Tom Chmura, vice president for economic development for the University of Massachusetts, and a breakfast at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce with area business and industry leaders.

"Business and industry will benefit through a better-trained workforce and a more responsive education system geared to changing technical needs," said Dirk Messelaar, dean of UMass Boston's Division of Corporate, Continuing and Distance Education.

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