mbrace: Monterey Bay Regional Academy of Computing Education

Three community colleges are collaborating with an area four-year college to educate and prepare students from low-income and underrepresented communities to compete for the many documented high-tech, high-paying information technology (IT) jobs. This goal is achieved by accomplishing the following objectives: (1) Increasing recruitment of students from local communities into associate and undergraduate programs in computer networking; (2) Increasing collaboration with industry and governmental agencies through capstone projects, internships and workshops; and (3) Integrating industry standard simulation tools into the networking curriculum to improve the quality and scope of the education provided.

Expected outcomes of this project are: (1) Increasing the overall recruitment of students into computer networking programs at each participating institution by 10% each year, and the number of women students in all participating institutions by at least 10 (double the current total) within a three year period; (2) Developing 15 capstone projects in collaboration with industry and governmental agencies; (3) Placing a minimum of 50 students into summer internship positions in industry and governmental agencies; (4) Increasing the number of students being placed into IT jobs by 10% each year; (5) Attaining 80% student satisfaction with the use of simulation tools in networking courses; and (6) Highlighting three employer sponsored networking capstone projects using simulation tools each year at the capstone festival. On this site, visitors will find more information about the project, the people that support it, and project activities. Additionally, there is information for high school and college students including IT career pathways, education options, internships, and scholarships.