Goals and Progress
IT-oLogy has established a set of goals to help guide its efforts and measures progress by successfully completed initiatives.
Goals
- Change the face of IT by encouraging all students to consider opportunities available in IT
- Advance IT careers by supporting networking and professional development
- Grow the economy by spurring existing companies to create new jobs and attracting new companies to the state and region
Successes
- Launched IT-oLogy initiative to focus on target audience: future IT talent
- Renovated 22,000 square feet of space and open IT-oLogy hub at 1301 Gervais St. in downtown Columbia, S.C.
- Supported the creation of the South Carolina chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association
- Expanded build-your-own computer camps for high school students to Charleston, S.C. and Greenville, S.C., reaching more than 300 students. The goal is to motivate high school sophomores and juniors to pursue an interest in technology and ultimately a career in information technology.
- Completed the first three of 10 IT Virtual Job Shadows. The interactive Virtual Job Shadows allow K-12 students to experience jobs in the field of IT without ever having to leave their desks. Virtual job shadows for project manager, end-client support and security analyst are now available to all S.C. teachers and students.
- Published the first "Be a Part of" IT brochure. The brochure is distributed to middle and high school guidance counselors, teachers, parents and students. It is intended to give them an overview of careers in IT to help students choose their pathways, or majors, in eighth grade.
- Served as the presenting sponsor for the Palmetto Open Source Software Conference, which attracted more than 300 IT executives, developers, educators and students to the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center for three days in April.
- Launched a pilot summer internship program and plans to expand that program in 2011 by launching an expanded website where students can search for internships and hiring managers can search students’ resumes.
- Visiting more than 15 college career fairs in five states this fall to help connect our partner companies to talented IT students who are looking for internships and entry-level positions.
- Offered the first joint entry-level training program for new IT employees of supporting companies.
- Opened the Institute for the Management of Information Technology to supporting companies for the first time. The institute is an intensive five-day experience traditionally offered to the front-line IT managers and above at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. The focus of the institute is advanced integrative thinking and problem solving.
- Supported the creation of the South Carolina chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association