IT Professional Academy expands on essential IT skills April 4 and 5

(Sponsor post authored by Dr. Deepak Khazanchi.) The ability to continuously learn and build upon your skills as an information technology (IT) professional is not only essential for personal growth, but also critical in today’s global businesses landscape. To meet the increasing demand for highly-qualified and technologically current IT professionals, the University of Nebraska at…

Sponsor: Thanks to the College of Information Science & Technology at University of Nebraska Omaha for supporting Silicon Prairie News.

About the authorDr. Deepak Khazanchi is the associate dean for academic affairs at the College of Information Science & Technology at University of Nebraska Omaha.


The ability to continuously learn and build upon your skills as an information technology (IT) professional is not only essential for personal growth, but also critical in today’s global businesses landscape. To meet the increasing demand for highly-qualified and technologically current IT professionals, the University of Nebraska at Omaha‘s College of Information Science and Technology (IS&T) offers affordable, cutting-edge IT education for professionals in a short workshop format under the auspices of its IT Professional Academy. Available three times per year, this spring, half-day sessions will be held April 4 and 5.

Among our goals at IS&T is to weave a web of learning opportunities for people at all stages of their lives and careers. In addition to traditional degree and certificate educational programs, the IT Academy represents a major commitment to achieving this goal.

The IT Academy aims to tap into the IS&T faculty’s intellectual expertise and present education, discussion and training on key IT topics for consumption by local professionals. Each series averages about 80 attendees spread over two days. Jim Collison, IT manager at the Gallup Organization, said he appreciated the opportunity the inaugural IT Academy gave him to learn new aspects of familiar concepts. “I’m a forward-thinker,” Collison said. “I’m always interested in anything out on the edge, a couple years out from where we are. It was a great networking opportunity as well.”

“I thought the content in the IT Academy sessions I attended was very relevant to what we are doing,” Glenn Leatherwood, manager of internet and portal technologies for Valmont Industries, Inc. “There was definitely material that people could take back and apply right away.” By leveraging the intellectual expertise available at the university, the IT Professional Academy combines current research with problems of practical interest to IT professionals. The roster of sessions varies, but typically includes issues and interests ranging from project management and software engineering to IT leadership and information assurance. Each session presents current research along with ways it can be used to solve real-world problems.

This spring’s sessions include Increasing Individual Creative Capacity: Techniques to Improve Innovative Thinking, Lean IT, Responsive Web Design and Virtualization Technolog. 

Attendees can apply these training sessions toward their certifications by self-reporting professional development units (PDUs) or continuing education units (CEUs). Most certification agencies such as PMI recognize relevant educational activities or programs offered by universities. 

Each session costs $175. Individuals registered for multiple sessions receive discounted registration rates for each additional session. A breakfast buffet is included with the morning sessions, while lunch is included for participants in the afternoon sessions. 

David Poutre, Omaha operations director and chief engineer for the Mitre Corp., said the two IT Academies he has attended offered a good return on investment. “In the days of declining budgets, I think this is a pretty good deal,” Poutre said.

More information is available at ITAcademy.UNOMAHA.edu or by calling the College at (402) 554-2380.

 

This blog post has been authored by our sponsor, College of Information Science & Technology, University of Nebraska Omaha. 


About the author: Dr. Deepak Khazanchi is the associate dean for academic affairs at the College of Information Science & Technology at University of Nebraska Omaha.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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