University of Saint Joseph Among Seven Connecticut Institutions to Receive Funds by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE)

West Hartford, CT (07/08/2022) — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) was among seven Connecticut institutions recently granted funds by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) and the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) through an initiative called the Tech Talent Accelerator (TTA), which aims to boost high-demand tech skills.

The TTA grant was received from NEBHE through funding made available from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development's Technology Talent Fund.

NEBHE and BHEF awarded grants to seven business-higher education partnerships in Connecticut as part of an initiative to rapidly increase the competitiveness of the state's postsecondary institutions and close this skills gap by fostering high-performing partnerships between business and higher education in emerging, high-demand tech skills in areas such as cybersecurity, virtual modeling, software development and digital analytics critical to business growth in the state.

The initiative will lead the development of aligned skills and credential pathways through the development of new or refreshed programming by postsecondary institutions, both public and independent, to meet current and emerging skills needs. Through the TTA, institutions will leverage partnerships with Connecticut-based employers and build on the momentum of the state's recently established "regional sector partnerships," which engage businesses with shared workforce needs as collaborators in the creation of postsecondary career pathways to in-demand tech roles.

More specifically, the $30,000 grant at The University of Saint Joseph will fund the development of a degree concentration in data analytics tailored to the regional needs of Greater Hartford employers including global tech firm CGI Inc.

USJ's Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics Hong Zhou, Ph.D. had this to say, "The grant comes at a critical juncture when USJ is seeking to build stronger collaboration with business partners and grow several new programs, including Computer and Data Science, Digital Media and Communication, and Sport Management. The grant will enable us to embed Google Data Analytics into our Data Science and Business and Management courses and align our curriculum with Connecticut business technology needs."

Other TTA grantees and their focus areas include:

Quinnipiac University, which will launch an advanced cybersecurity badging program tailored to industry partners in healthcare, finance and tech in central and southern Connecticut.

The University of Bridgeport, which will provide a new 12-week course in cybersecurity and information security tailored to businesses in southwest Connecticut's finance and tech sectors.

Mitchell College, which will develop an accelerated pathway for cybersecurity skills tailored to the advanced manufacturing and defense sectors.

The University of Hartford, which will launch an accelerated software development course for mobile apps tailored to major businesses in the Greater Hartford area championed by global tech firm Infosys.

The University of New Haven, which will develop an embedded game design and simulation development program leveraging skills augmented with virtual reality in collaboration with SphereGen, Arsome and Pleiadian.

Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU), which will launch a dedicated community of practice to collaborate with businesses through the Capital Area Tech Partnership and the SW Connecticut Tech Partnership. CSCU faculty from two- and four-year institutions will directly work with each partnership to analyze jobs and skills demand data and develop a refreshed program with cross-cutting digital skills built off the success of the newly released Foundations in Digital Analytics microcredential backed by Connecticut businesses.

Connecticut's public and private higher education institutions hailed the TTA initiative.

"CSCU is excited to participate in this effort and is very appreciative of the resources and opportunity to invest in the professional development of our faculty and staff at the colleges and universities. Partnering with NEBHE, BHEF and the regional sector partnerships will help CSCU institutions ensure their programs are aligned to business needs and our students have the academic, technical and personal skills needed in the IT workforce," said CSCU President Terrence Chang.

"The independent colleges in Connecticut are eager to support the business community in the state by developing new programs that provide instruction in high tech, in-demand skills. We are grateful for the partnership with the state, NEBHE, BHEF and CSCU in launching the TTA initiative," said Jen Widness, president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges.

"Bringing together educators and employers in such constructive ways will help ensure that Connecticut has the technological skills demanded in a changed, global, knowledge economy," said NEBHE President and CEO Michael K. Thomas.

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