04-14-2024 Education - Flipbook - Page 8
8 The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, April 14, 2024
Advancement, from page 1
program director. “The program is designed to make
students aware of what [digital transformation] entails
and the importance of being able to develop a technology plan as well as a transition plan.”
The faculty, including adjuncts who work in the
field, baked real-world challenges into the curriculum
based on their own experience and feedback from
leaders at organizations such as Northrop Grumman,
Zoom and SC&H. The majority of enrollees are also
working professionals who want to advance in their
careers and achieve a promotion or pivot into the field.
DJ Berman, a full-time student poised to graduate
from the program this spring, is not a typical student
in this regard. He completed his bachelor’s degree in
business administration at Stevenson last year while
taking courses in the master’s program.
For good reasons, he’s confident about the job
outlook for digital transformation. “It's probably the
most sustainable industry,” Berman says. “Businesses
are always changing, and technology is always advancing, so I think a digital transformation degree can be
really powerful.”
To complete the first capstone courses, he planned
and implemented a firewall and a virtual private
network into a career services website while his teammates designed and implemented other infrastructural aspects for it. He will complete the second course
this month, finalizing a paper on an application of
firewalls before presenting it to faculty members.
Statistically speaking, Berman will land a role
quickly after graduating. Based on survey results she
uses to track the program’s success, Simpkins says
100% of graduates are employed within six months.
Given the large number of open technology positions,
it makes sense that employers want to hire graduates
after completing a program like this.
Stevenson’s digital transformation and innovation program continues to evolve along with the
digital landscape, offering a unique opportunity to
gain a competitive edge in a sustainable industry. By
equipping students like DJ to navigate and lead in the
rapidly changing world of technology, Stevenson is
not just educating the next generation; it's shaping the
future of digital transformation.
University of Maryland
Robert H. Smith School of Business
Graduate Certificate in Technology Management
The University of Maryland’s 14-credit technology management graduate certificate is geared toward
working professionals from both public and private
sectors who are poised to advance their careers in
technology management. Designed and facilitated
by professors from UMD’s schools of business, engineering and public policy, the 10-month curriculum
enables students to solve realistic challenges in technology management.
Frank Goertner serves as the program’s director.
Seeing a need for more interaction between students
and technology leaders, particularly those in the
public sector, he and his colleagues set out to develop
a program to meet the needs of both MBA students
and employers. The resulting curriculum is highly
experiential, Frank says.
Cohorts of 30-40 students attend in-person classes
every other Saturday at UMD’s College Park campus,
often alongside leaders from organizations such as
the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology
Transfer, National Science Foundation's Innovation
Corps, Terrapin Development Company, and Tinch
Law Firm, among others.
They provide context for real-world challenges
that students work to solve. “It's really exciting to see
how [the students and tech leaders] come together
and share and cross-learn once you get them all in the
same classroom,” Goertner says.
This is especially true for the program’s capstone
project, in which students work in teams to execute
solutions to real technology problems, typically with a
project sponsor or student employer. Goertner tracks
the impact of these projects as a way to measure the
program’s success.
While one team from last year’s cohort worked on
a project that may lead to commercializing technology developed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center,
another team’s project was highlighted on NASA’s
technology transfer website. The team found a new
application for shape memory alloy, concluding that
a U.S. policy addressing the growing problem of
Nursing, from page 4
students. Derry currently works in the emergency
department at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital
and is in the adult-gerontology primary care track
and will be graduating this December.
“As an ER nurse, I see the many patients who
come in and don’t have a primary care provider,”
says Derry, observing that having a primary care
provider is essential for the maintenance of one’s
health. “I also decided to become a nurse practitioner because I wanted to grow in my profession.
I love being a nurse, but being a nurse practitioner
in the Baltimore area will allow me to treat the
underserved population, particularly veterans, in
an expanded way.”
Derry observes that being able to network and
build relationships with other nurse practitioners
has opened up many opportunities to meet clinicians and learn from them. Being in the program
has also allowed her to progress in her current
career, as well as giving her the opportunity to
work alongside a physician to publish a journal
article on the care of geriatric trauma patients.
“The best part of studying at Notre Dame has
by far been the professors and the atmosphere,”
Derry continues. “I came back to Notre Dame for
my graduate degree after completing my undergraduate degree for that reason. The professors
have helped me grow beyond words as a clinician
and as an individual. They continue to support
me through the many ups and downs of life, from
the day-to-day stress to the personal obstacles.
They encourage me to work harder when things
seem impossible. My classmates have also played
a supportive role; the bond we have formed is
more than that of typical classmates – we treat
each other like family. Caring science is the core
of the program’s foundation, and it truly shows in
every aspect.”
“With the ever-growing primary care gap, the
field of advanced nursing practice has taken up the
mantle to meet the needs of the community,” says
Crowe. “The demand for nurse practitioners is on
the rise, especially in the primary care setting, and
will persist until every person has abundant access
to high-quality health care. We are far from that
goal, but our exceptional programs at NDMU are
working to inch Baltimore closer.”
Global demand, from page 4
Spain is a popular study abroad country for
Salisbury students
Spain last summer. She now hopes to become a
teacher. “The teachers in Spain were so inspiring. I want to bring my global perspective back
into the community. She is planning to obtain
her teaching certification along with her bachelor’s degree in Spanish in May 2024.
Stiegler says the infrastructure of the
program has been its biggest challenge. He
describes a parallel project developing creditbearing global internships around the world
for liberal arts and social sciences majors that is
intended to impart skills that are needed in the
Baltimore business community.
Working with the American Institution for
Foreign Studies, Stiegler says the college is celebrating the 100th student in Maryland’s global
internship workforce development program.
“These programs are all directed toward global
learning. They provide transition skills into the
professional environment and give our students
opportunities to work at global companies.”
Morgan State University (MSU) is tackling
global environments with a policy program that
begins locally. MSU’s interdisciplinary coastal
science and policy program will produce graduates with skills for a variety of jobs, including positions at government agencies, NASA,
National Services, Maryland Department of
Natural Resources and various consulting firms.
Scott Knoche, director of the MSU PEARL
(Patuxent Environmental and Aquatic Research
Laboratory) says, “Climate change is happening, and it is having an economic and human
impact. There is a need for more people in the
coastal science and policy realm.”
PEARL is designed to train the next generation of scientists, focusing on four core areas:
aquaculture, coastal chemistry, coastal ecology, and environmental and natural resource
economics. Knoche contends that the state
of Maryland has more coastline relative to
its geographic area than any other U.S. state,
yet interdisciplinary coastal science educational
programs are sparse. The MSU program is
intended to teach students how to think about
new and different technologies that will protect
communities.
“This is a highly novel program,” Knoche
says. “There are only a couple of other interdisciplinary coastal/marine science-focused
undergraduate degree programs in the U.S. and
MSU has the only one in Maryland.”
Xiaowen Li, director of the climate science
division, says the team plans to invite MSU
school of computer, mathematics and natural
sciences (SCMNS) students to join the program
during their freshman year. The program is
also ideal for two-year students from community colleges. Li notes that MSU is working
with the Community Colleges of Southern MD,
Anne Arundel and Howard Counties to provide
opportunities.
Amanda Knobloch, Ph.D., environmental education coordinator, led the curriculum
development, which is designed as a fouryear program that allows freshman students
to dive right in during their first two semesters. Courses throughout the four-year program include coastal chemistry, urban coastal
environment and aquaculture, environmental
economics and policy, as well as biology and
chemistry courses. The curriculum culminates
with a senior capstone project guided by one
of the researchers or field technicians in the
PEARL program.
Students are encouraged to use and discover technologies for innovation. For example,
Knobloch describes a project using drones to
measure and monitor shore-line water quality.
“The curriculum is interdisciplinary and
includes courses in the social sciences that are
people-focused,” says Knobloch.
Indeed, the rich academic and cultural
opportunities offered by UMBC, SU and MSU
will put both the schools and their graduates on
the global map for success.
space junk could advance it into the marketplace.
Coincidence or not, the FAA proposed a rule that
would reduce the growth of debris from commercial
space vehicles a few months after the project’s completion.
Goertner also tracks the career advancement of
the program’s graduates, noting several received new
promotions or new placements, including a few that
“successfully transitioned to new roles at companies
like Chewy.com, M&T Bank and Deloitte doing digital
transformation work.”
Overall, students appreciate the opportunities
provided by the program. “For people interested in
emerging technology, this is an opportunity to make
connections and learn the processes of how to do business in a field that has unlimited potential,” says Jared
Bodgan, a program alumni and captain in the United
States Space Force.
Looking to the future, Goertner and his colleagues
are developing an online only technology management executive program to meet a growing demand
from students unable to meet in person. He says it will
not be a credit-bearing course, but it should include
instruction on the core topics of the existing program.
The University of Maryland's technology management graduate certificate prepares graduates to meet
the evolving demands of technology management,
blending academic rigor with realistic applications
through experiential learning and collaboration with
industry leaders. With the program’s practical design
and its success in the classroom and in the tangible
impacts its alumni are making in the world of technology and beyond, the University of Maryland is shaping
the future leaders of technology management.
Job search, from page 1
dents to do an independent study over one
semester, guided by one of the faculty, for
course credit,” says Graduate Program Director
James Foulds. “If students want to get more
involved and go deeper into research, we offer
a master's thesis option, which takes place over
two semesters.”
Foulds explains that typically, students reach
out to faculty to express interest in working
with them on research. If mutually acceptable,
ideas for the project can come from either the
faculty member or the student.
“Students benefit by getting research experience, which helps prepare them for doctoral
programs and/or industry careers in research
and provides them with mentorship from
experts in the field,” says Foulds, adding, “It
looks really good on a CV.”
Foulds notes that the independent study
also allows students to explore a passion project
they are excited about, while at the same time
benefiting faculty by helping to advance their
own research. “Faculty often enjoy working
with graduate students and find mentoring the
next generation of researchers rewarding,” says
Foulds.
Charles Miller, who has a Bachelor of Arts
in musical composition and a Master of Science
in information systems, both from UMBC,
worked with M.S. professors Michael Brown
and Augusto Casas to develop and foster his
passion for cybersecurity and penetration testing. This collaborative work led to a paper
presentation at DEFCON 31 in Las Vegas last
summer as a recent graduate, and led to his
current position as a Falcon Complete Associate
Analyst with CrowdStrike, Inc.
After realizing that a musical career wasn’t
for him, Miller began working in information technology. “I had already worked about
10 years in and around enterprise-level IT at
various companies when I started my graduate
degree at UMBC, so I had a real-world reference for the things we covered in the M.S. in
information systems program,” he says. “I was
genuinely impressed with the fact that nearly
every course of that program had a distinct
purpose and real-world use. UMBC absolutely
helps connect the dots of what tech knowledge
is useful and how you'll be expected to apply it
in a business setting.
“Personally, I have found UMBC's intensive
coursework and incredibly supportive professors to be invaluable in furthering my career ...
I don't think you're going to find that at many
other institutions.”
Harford Community College Provides
Clinical Rotations
Harford Community College (HCC) established its nursing program in 1968 and was
accredited by the Accreditation Commission
for Education in Nursing (ACEN) in 1974.
Since its inception, the program has provided
students with a clinical rotation, offered in a
variety of settings across the region, including
eldercare facilities, hospitals and community
settings, among others. In hospitals, students
are placed in medical-surgical settings and
highly specialized areas including intensive care
units, labor and delivery, pediatrics, and mental
health.
While all nursing programs offer a clinical
component, HCC has several unique partnerships that may not be available in other programs, says Ashley Meisel, D.N.P., R.N., dean of
nursing and allied health professions. “We also
offer a 100-hour practicum experience in the
final semester where students work one-on-one
with a nurse,” Meisel adds.
Meisel observes that clinical rotations offer
students the opportunity to provide patient care
with supervision, practice essential skills and
build the confidence that will help them when
they begin working as new graduate nurses.
“When students have a good clinical experience and get immersed in the culture, they are
more likely to seek employment in that facility,”
Meisel adds. “Clinical placement often leads to
employment opportunities.”
Ask Margit, from page 1
penalty, passing marriage equality, and restoring
voting rights to the formerly incarcerated. Back
then, he called this his School for Democracy.
He also believed strongly in campaign finance
reform. Instead of spending money he didn’t have,
his students at the School for Democracy became
his voice to his constituency.
This grassroots concept was inspired by one
of Raskin’s heroes and mentors, Bob Moses, a
prominent civil rights activist with the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a
MacArthur Fellow, and an educator. “To organize,”
said Moses, “you bounce a ball, and some little kids
come by to play, and then some bigger kids arrive,
and then some high school and college kids, and
then you begin to talk issues with their parents, and
then you organize.”
“What do the ‘students’ learn,” Raskin posits.
“First, it means they gain an understanding of our
Constitution and how democracy has evolved and
expanded over almost 250 years. Then they study
the policy issues and how to present them to voters. That means delving into each of the individual
subjects, both pros and cons, so they can speak
to voters cogently and with conviction. Mostly, it
teaches them about democracy in action and its
direct effects on their lives.”
In his most recent book, Unthinkable: Trauma,
Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy,
Raskin explains his philosophy on running for
office. “To me, politics is, at its best, about education: educating people about the process, about
the issues, about strategies for political change and
policy breakthrough.”
Today, Raskin’s school for democracy has
become Democracy Summer https://jamieraskin.
com/democracy-summer/), a nationwide six-week
program for high-school and college age students
divided into two groups: fellows and scholars. In
the program now sponsored by the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee, Fellows take
the seminars and get involved in direct participation with campaigns while Scholars just attend the
classes virtually. Raskin has built a well-informed
cadre of young people to promote his political platform who take classes from some of the best minds
in the country on current affairs and other subjects
related to democracy.
Each week, participants have four to five hours
of seminars, discussions and workshops, plus 15-20
hours of hands-on, in-person organizing for the
campaign. Previous speakers include Speaker
Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Marc Elias, a prominent
voting rights attorney, professors from Harvard
like Laurence Tribe, and from other universities,
authors, civil rights advocates and Raskin’s fellow
lawmakers. “No one has ever turned us down,” says
Raskin. “Everyone wants to interact with young
activists.”
Eighteen years after it started, the program
has expanded to an additional 38 states and made
civics come alive for thousands of alumni…so far.
Raskin’s goal in 2024 is to have this program available in every state.
“Since the last presidential election,” says
Raskin, “the U.S. has gained over 10 million new
voters. We need to reach out to them to join us
and our Democracy Summer projects: knocking
on doors, learning how to engage voters face-toface, organizing at the local level, and developing
skills beyond digital communications. These young
people have rights as citizens and need to learn the
strategic and moral benefits of voting.
“We have an opportunity to invest in the next
generations, to educate them – there’s that word
again – to show them how to stand up for the things
that matter most to their generation. They are
anxious about the economy, about climate change,
about gun violence, and other problems in their
lives. We can engage and empower them through
healthy political dialogue and organization.”
When the participants of Democracy Summer
speak with Raskin or his partners, they feel valued.
He teaches them critical thinking, how to look at
issues from all sides, and oral advocacy skills. These
young people will fill our future government roles,
local and national. They will do so because they
believe in our Constitution and respect it. They are
our future.
Are you interested?
U.S. Representative Mikie Sherill of New
Jersey’s 11th congressional district was one of
Raskin’s inaugural partners. “Democracy Summer
educates the next generation of political leaders and
provides a vehicle for the participants to put their
skills to work in their community. Our previous
NJ-11 Fellows canvassed, organized community
outreach programs, helped reach young voters on
social media, and conducted valuable research.”
If you or someone you know would be interested in participating, contact https://jamieraskin.
com/democracy-summer/. “Applications open
March 18 and the priority deadline is April 12, but
you can fill out the interest form for our updates,
tips, and reminders.” On the interest form, when
it asks, “Where did you hear about Democracy
Summer,” mention the Baltimore Sun’s Education
section. Even if you live in other locations, there are
additional representatives supporting the program
in their congressional districts.
This covers just the basics of the benefits
young people gain through their participation in
Democracy Summer. Encourage those you know to
join today. This is a far better learning experience
than you can imagine and worth the investment of
time and energy.
