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Print Edition StoriesFriday, January 2, 2009
Inside Education & Training
Tech news from New England college campuses
By Mass High Tech staff
MHT managing editor Rodney Brown on NECN: 22 tech companies give back to community
NECN: Scvngr tours explore cities, campuses by cell phone
MHT Editor Doug Banks on NECN: Decoding the Gen Y workforce
BU: Grant to support women in science and engineering
Boston University reported that it has received a National Science Foundation grant for a project to help women faculty in the sciences and engineering strengthen their professional networks as a method of improving their career success and satisfaction at the university. BU received the $750,000 three-year grant as part of the NSF ADVANCE program, which helps universities develop systemic approaches to increasing representation and advancement of women faculty in science and engineering careers.
The university noted that science and engineering departments in U.S. universities lose accomplished women to industry and to other non-academic careers, even at a time when women represent an increasing percentage of those who earn doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines.
MIT: Media Lab focuses on visual storytelling
The MIT Media Laboratory recently announced the creation of the Center for Future Storytelling, enabled by a seven-year, $25 million commitment from Plymouth Rock Studios, the motion picture and television studio scheduled to open in 2010 in Plymouth.
The collaboration between the Media Lab and Plymouth Rock is an attempt to revolutionize how people tell stories through vehicles such as motion pictures and peer-to-peer multimedia sharing, making stories more interactive, improvisational and social. Research will also focus on ways to revolutionize imaging and display technologies, including cameras and programmable studios.
Mount Wachusett CC: Adds computer literacy program
Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner and IDL Systems of Boston have partnered to provide an accelerated computer literacy program for residents of the North Central region of Massachusetts. The Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³) exam, which tests basic computing and Internet knowledge, will be made available to students who complete the program.
The program will be offered at nights and is designed to provide Internet and computing literacy skills for career advancement, to enter the job market, or to begin higher education programs. It will be offered in a blended model by combining face-to-face instruction with an online course based on IDL’s adaptive learning system.
Classes begin in February. For more information about upcoming courses, please contact the MWCC Enrollment Center at 978-630-9284, or enrollment@mwcc.mass.edu.
Yale cuts greenhouse gas emissions on campus
Yale University in New Haven, Conn., has reported a 7 percent reduction in the school’s greenhouse gas emissions since 2005 despite a 3.2 percent increase in the size of the campus during that period.
Three years ago, Yale president Richard C. Levin committed to a 43 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The university is working to improve energy efficiency in existing buildings, establishing sustainable standards for new construction and large renovations, increasing the efficiency of on-campus energy production and distribution, and launching renewable energy projects.
Northern Essex CC: Program for Latino girls
Northern Essex Community College, with a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, is offering Latino girls from the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club an after-school program in computer technology and applications.
The girls, ages 9 to 14, are learning about programming, digital images and other aspects of computers from bilingual professors from the college who visit the club once a month.
The program is funded by a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Pipeline Fund grant, which Northern Essex and Middlesex community colleges received from the Department of Higher Education.
Springfield Technical CC and Smith: Kids as future engineers
Springfield Technical Community College, Smith College and the Springfield Public Schools are partnering to address the shortage of women and minorities in the profession. The colleges and the city’s public schools are working under a two-year National Science Foundation grant to improve early student achievement in the sciences, and eventually increase the number of women and underrepresented populations pursuing engineering degrees.
The “Blueprint for Teaching Tomorrow’s Engineers Today” is a $300,000 initiative that leverages the Pioneer Valley’s educational resources. The institutions will provide teacher preparation and curriculum designed to excite students about engineering. They plan to provide materials and education about engineering to the 240 middle school teachers working with a population of about 5,700 students.
University of New England: New centers of excellence
The University of New England has established centers of excellence in research and scholarship designed to build on existing strengths in marine science and neuroscience, humanities and public health.
The centers are intended to provide opportunities for collaborative research and scholarship programs that are competitive for interdisciplinary, multi-investigator and multi-institutional awards, according to the school, based in Biddeford and Portland, Maine. The centers are also designed to expand undergraduate research at UNE and explore opportunities for future Ph.D. programs.
The centers include The Center for Land-Sea Interactions (CLSI): Human, River and Ocean Health; The Center for Excellence in Neuroscience; The Center for Global Humanities (CGH); and The Center for Community and Public Health (CCPH).
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