PRAISED - Partnering Regional Academia with Industry to Strengthen Education in Secure Internet Application Development

This project is creating a regional partnership of industry, academia, and high schools to more effectively recruit and prepare a skilled and diverse workforce of web and mobile programmers who can design and create secure, data-driven web and mobile software applications to fill unmet job demand in the Puget Sound region. Specifically, the project is partnering with: 1. local high schools to increase the number and diversity of students training to become web and mobile programmers through summer camps and Career Start, a program through which students may earn a professional-technical degree in web/mobile programming while still in high school. 2. industry to improve student job preparation, mentoring, and placement through networking events and the Industry Fellows program, where a faculty member and an industry professional are paired in the classroom. 3. a four-year university to develop a Reverse Transfer program, providing opportunities for university students to earn certificates in web/mobile programming while gaining relevant real world experience and hands-on job skills or complete two-year degrees after transferring. The goal of these initiatives is to increase the number of students entering the workforce as web/mobile programmers by reaching out to underrepresented groups and strengthening job skills and preparation for the job market for program graduates. The college is working closely with Seattle Central Community College (SCCC) and the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) to accomplish these goals. The primary audiences for these efforts are high school and two-year college students.