10-15-2023 EDU - Flipbook - Page 9
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, October 15, 2023
Ask Margit, from page 1
Entrepreneurial mindset, from page 6
Experiential learning is at the heart of UMBC’s entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership graduate program.
tion pillar, the school has done groundbreaking
work at the intersection of entrepreneurship
and small-scale manufacturing. Open Works
is a space where creatives, traditional tradespeople from woodworking and metalworking,
computer geeks and 3-D printer people from
the advanced tech world can come together.
During the COVID pandemic they put out
the call for everyone with a 3-D printer to help
with the manufacture of face shields and the
response was overwhelming. That’s building
community.
The Center for Business Innovation at the
Community College of Baltimore County is
unusual for a two-year institution. Dennis
Sullivan, M.B.A., associate professor of business studies and director of the Center for
Business Innovation learned early on that of
students taking business classes, many of them
wanted to start their own business. He realized
that they were teaching students management,
accounting, marketing, etc., but they weren’t
teaching them how to start a business.
“What we’re really trying to do,” says
Sullivan of the center, “is teach people the
entrepreneurial mindset. How to take an idea
and turn it into something real.” He works with
students to develop their ideas into a business
plan, to think about their target market, how to
finance it, build it and how to reach potential
customers.
At CCBC they are more focused on the
trades, such as the person who wants to start a
mobile car detailing business, a trucking business or hair salon, businesses not usually eligible for government funding. So, they turned
the business plan into a competition. With
funding from the Radcliffe Foundation, they
are now able to award $20,000 as the top prize
with lesser amounts for the runners-up.
Business plan competitors get help preparing for the competition and are assigned
mentors from the business world. They receive
coaching for their presentations. All winners
and finalists are required to take a class like a
mini-MBA to teach them accounting, financials, marketing and a chance to fine tune their
business plan.
Students in the business management program work with the winners and finalists as
part of their capstone project. These students
will help with whatever that business may need
to help get it off the ground: a website, logos,
marketing materials, sales materials, social
media campaigns or a fine-tuned business plan.
The capstone students get experience working
on a real business and their “client” students get
to keep what they created.
To the 3-Cs of entrepreneurship, Sullivan
would add a fourth: Commitment. Another
key to success.
Future goals, from page 4
Derfler-Rozin is inspired by the connections students are making with members of
the masters in management advisory council,
who regularly present and discuss business
and management issues in the classroom and
provide informal mentorship and guidance to
students.
“They talk [to the class] about how they
transformed their passion into business. Then,
they post some kind of challenge that they've
been going through in the organization. A
group of four to five students works with a specific mentor from the company on a consulting
project, do research, collect data and then present it to the organization.”
Derfler-Rozin is also looking to create even
more ways for students to connect with the
business community by creating a more formal
pathway for mentorship and internships with
advisory council companies.
“I want to continue this connection to the
industry because I feel this is really important
in a business education. We have to have those
synergies.”
UMGC MBA Preflight
This fall, University of Maryland Global
Campus (UMGC) is streamlining its MBA
program by offering a more customized and
on-demand approach to supplemental course
support with a program known as “Preflight.”
“Students come to UMGC’s MBA program
with tremendous variety in terms of their educational qualifications and work experience,”
said Ravi Mittal, chair of the department of
business administration at UMGC. “Some students have expressed that in certain topics and
subject areas they may be lacking the level of
preparation that is needed to excel in the MBA
degree. So, the Preflight program was designed
to provide targeted support to help students
continuously improve.”
Prior to Preflight, students took a six-credit
introductory course, which presented all of the
supplemental materials for the entire program.
Now, students complete an online assessment
prior to the start of each new course and, based
on their results, they receive recommendations
for additional resources, such as reading materials and videos. Plus, they are connected to a
professor who is able to provide additional help
with that topic.
These customized recommendations for
supplemental resources are known as a “study
blueprint,” and Mittal is hopeful that this new
approach will lead to better outcomes for students. They plan to evaluate the success of the
program by looking at grades as well as qualitative factors.
“We plan to survey and interview students
to collect information on the usefulness of the
materials,” Mittal says. They will also gather
feedback from instructors regarding how well
students are mastering required competencies.
And, even as this program is launching, Mittal is looking ahead to what is next
for UMGC’s business degree programs. He
says they are eager to stay ahead of changing
employer needs and have developed tools to
analyze job descriptions as a way of understanding what skill-sets matter most.
“We've picked up various themes and keywords from job postings,” says Mittal. “Now, we
are redesigning our course content to make the
MBA degree even more reflective of the skills
that employers need.”
Technology in the workplace, from page 6
lenge is to stimulate research programming
and work with industry to build a pipeline of
graduates interested in STEM and healthcare.
University of Maryland Adds Master’s Degree
Opportunities
Two new master’s degree programs go
beyond the traditional specialties of electrical,
mechanical, data or design engineering. Even
more specialized will be advanced degrees in
embedded systems and cloud computing, available at the University of Maryland’s A. James
Clark School of Engineering.
“We use embedded systems every day,” says
Ankur Srivastava, director of the institute for
systems research and a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering
at the University of Maryland who helped
create the masters in embedded systems program. “The technology is found in televisions,
phones, appliances, cars. These systems can
do sensing, computation and communication,
leading to the ability to do decision-making,”
he explains. “We need engineers who can work
in this space effectively.”
Potential master’s degree candidates for
embedded systems include professionals who
want to move up in their companies, conventional IT employees, as well as non-traditional
companies in such industries as the automobile
sector. The degree is available in person or
online, a convenience for working professionals. Course material is available live, asynchronously and synchronously, so that receiving the
9
information can be as flexible as possible.
Students must have a bachelor’s degree in
computer science, mechanical engineering or
electrical engineering. Srivastava says physics
or mathematics majors will also be considered.
“I’m really excited about the program,”
Srivastava exclaims. “The program is going to
make a big, long-term impact.”
Specializing in cloud computing is also predicted to catapult technology professionals to
a new level. “This is definitely one of the areas
that requires a special type of professional,” says
Zoltan Safar, program content advisor for the
new master’s in cloud engineering at the school.
“IT or computer networking engineers can pick
up things as they go, but we wanted to make it
a little more systematic. The cloud professional
needs to know a little bit about a lot of different
things.”
The program is based on feedback from
employers within the industry, and the curriculum was carefully designed to prepare students
for jobs rich in technology. A background in
technology with a bachelor’s degree in engineering or science and a 3.0 grade point average
are necessary for consideration for the program, which will begin in spring 2024.
“Technology changes really, really fast. If
you want a career in technology, you have to
commit to a lifetime of learning, says Safar. “If
you are passionate about technology, this program is a good step.”
The 40% of jobs we didn’t know about are
starting to appear. An article in Inc. Magazine
listed six jobs that it foresees becoming a reality: AI personality designer, biotech AI engineer, smart city designer, AI ethicist, digital
detox therapist, and human machines teaming
manager.
There is one position that is already listed
in job openings: prompt engineer. An article
in Forbes lists the six free courses you can take
to be able to do the job. It says that, eventually,
every company will need a Chief AI Officer.
One class description says, “Designed with the
absolute beginner in mind, the team at Learn
Prompting turn complex AI concepts into
straightforward, easy-to-understand lessons.
To date, over 1.2 million people have leveraged
this free course to efficiently implement AI
tools into their daily workflows.”
But what if these don’t appeal to you. Are
there jobs that pay well that don’t involve computers? Yes, a great many!
Even if we don’t know about 40% of the
jobs of the future, we do know about the 60%
that are familiar. What are they? That’s an easy
answer as there are not enough people to fill
them today.
They are referred to as tradespeople. A
wide variety of jobs that involve using your
hands are desperate for new talent, such as
plumbing, electrical work, auto repair, home
remodeling, construction, truck drivers (all
kinds and they can earn around $82,000 a
year), any position in health care (trained and
untrained), service technicians … and the list
goes on. Many of these require only a GED or
high school diploma along with some training
or an apprenticeship.
What else would you need to learn and
what skill sets would you need to have going
forward? Anything that is uniquely human,
that is almost impossible to replicate using
machines. Empathy is high on that list. Jobs
that need empathy include nurses, teachers,
counselors, social workers, veterinarians and
veterinary techs, musicians, graphic designers
and librarians, and most types of therapists,
physical and mental.
Motivating and coaching cannot be duplicated by a computer. Other skills include
problem-solving, interpersonal skills, creativity, and, oddly enough, communication skills,
particularly good writing and verbal skills.
These will keep you employed for a very
long time. And if you’re capable of managing
intense emotional challenges, you are priceless.
One profession that will guarantee a job
for life is health care. The U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, part of the U.S. Department
of Labor, publishes an Occupational Outlook
Handbook listing “20 occupations with the
highest projected numeric change in employment.” At the top of that list is home health and
personal care aides.
An article from LinkedIn titled The Most
In-Demand Jobs on LinkedIn Right Now published July 26, 2023, lists bakers and food
workers at the top. It also says top jobs include
mental health specialists and personal shoppers. It adds, “Only service officers (a customer/client support role found in industries like
government, finance, and education) experienced a greater increase in demand (140%).”
Wondering what the most in-demand job
is? The author cites customer service representative. "More broadly, customer service and
sales roles dominate this quarter’s list – especially in retail, which accounts for four of the
top 10 jobs.”
Going back to skill sets, you’ll see that
many of these in-demand jobs are the ones
that require the people skills mentioned above:
connecting, motivating, persuading, coaching and empathy. Interacting with a human
being is far more complex than working with
a computer.
Another change impacting job hunters:
fewer jobs need a college degree. For instance,
many of the big tech companies have dropped
that requirement for tech positions. Look at
certifications as a way to differentiate yourself
if that’s the type of job that interests you.
AI will impact all of us; we just don’t know
exactly how yet. If technology is fun for you,
learn all you can. If it’s not something you
enjoy, look at other professions. Most jobs
I’ve had I had never heard of until I got the
interview or met someone who did it. The best
thing you can do is keep your eyes and ears
open and ask people what they do for a living.
You’ll be surprised at the answers you get. And
stay open. The right job for you is out there.
Dining, from page 1
and staying open until 9 p.m., so when classes
go until 8 p.m., there is still availability to get
something to eat afterwards.”
Other improvements Aramark will deliver
include more partnerships with local restaurants, more sustainability initiatives, having a
Star-K certified Kosher kitchen and offering
halal options.
Delivering crucial support
College students today are juggling a lot –
classes, work, crushing debt and, in some cases,
raising a family. Carroll Community College’s
office of student care and integrity aims to
lessen the burden for students by offering free,
confidential support on areas such as mental
health, academic challenges, financial support,
and food, housing, transportation and legal
challenges.
When Scott (his last name has been withheld for privacy reasons) was struggling with
addiction and single parent troubles, he was not
sure where to turn.
“I was going through some personal things
trying to juggle full-time work, school and
being a single parent, and some substance
abuse issues. I reached out because I could
tell it was kind of going downhill, and the
people at the office kept reaching out to me and
have been keeping up with me since,” he says.
Eventually, Scott dropped his classes so that he
could go to treatment. “They reached out to me
on the day that I dropped my classes and asked
what was going on … there's a lot of shame with
substance abuse, but I just felt like I had some
support on campus.”
Jordan (her last name has been withheld
for privacy reasons) was in her first semester
at Carroll in a general criminology class when
the course covered a subject that she wasn't
mentally prepared for. “It kind of triggered me.
It was about sexual assault, an issue I was personally still dealing with. Luckily, our professor
was a cop for 30 years, so he knew that when I
had got upset, he needed to pull me aside after
class. He spoke with me and directed me here
(the office of student care and integrity).”
Jordan accessed free counseling sessions
through Carroll’s TalkNow service, and the
office helped her find a therapist through her
insurance for further care. “I've made a lot of
improvement since starting therapy. Mental
health is very important,” she says.
DaVida Anderson, Ph.D., director of student care and integrity at Carroll, explains that
“students come from different backgrounds and
start at different starting points, and so when
they get here, from a time that they’re admitted
to the time that they graduate, we are a part of
their team here at Carroll to help develop skill
sets that are going to help them in college and
beyond.”
In addition to supporting students, her
office also promotes integrity around academic honesty policies and ethical behavior.
Carroll also has a well-being committee, which
includes faculty, staff and students to “address
the importance of health-related issues – wellness, drugs, alcohol, opioids, and interpersonal
violence prevention,” Anderson says.
Students also can access TimelyCare for
virtual health and wellbeing services any time
of day. “A crisis does not happen between 8:30
a.m. and 4:30 p.m. It happens at 3 a.m. on a
Saturday,” Anderson adds. “Students can talk to
somebody then, or they can set up a counseling
session within 24 hours. They're able to look on
their phones to see who’s available and look at
their backgrounds and their bios to personally
select who they would like to work with.”
Anderson’s office also has a resource database that provides students with ways to connect to resources within the college and the
community for a variety of concerns – family
and child resources, housing, food and clothing, domestic violence, substance abuse, or
issues for the LGBTQ or veteran community.
Education shortages, from page 5
conjunction with their school systems. In total,
more than 200 teachers are enrolled in the various cohorts, Singleton says.
“We are working with a situation where you
have a teacher shortage. We're working within
an environment where teachers are leaving
the profession. There’s research to show that
achieving national board certification helps
people to want to stay in teaching,” Singleton
attests. “We want to have teachers stay in the
profession and assume leadership positions and
stay in the classroom and not just move into
administration.”
Another program designed to prepare
educators to mold tomorrow’s leaders is the
online doctorate program in literacy studies at
Salisbury University. The first class was admitted in 2014, but this fall marked the first fully
online program designed to serve a broader
constituency, says Judith Franzak, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department of literacy
studies at Salisbury.
The program is student-centered, with small
cohorts of eight student educators who remain
grouped for the entirety of their studies in an
effort to build community and peer support.
The three-credit courses are presented synchronously, once a week, in the evening, around
professional teaching schedules. Engaging discussions and small group work are a part of the
online experience, and writing support groups
have been launched this year for doctoral stu-
dents.
Students enroll with a master’s degree in
education or a related field, from all areas of
instruction, whether as kindergarten teachers, high school principals, museum educators
and instructional designers, and build relationships with fellow educators with different backgrounds, cultivating collaboration, enriching
their perspectives, offering a support system
and generating a professional network.
The program is centered in diverse literacies
for diverse learners, Franzak notes. Literacy
can refer to traditional reading, writing and
communicative practices, as well as contemporary methods like social media, web pages
and e-reading. One student pursued research
in African American storytelling while another
focused on the family and community literacies
of migrant farm workers.
“It’s a big commitment but it’s also life
changing,” Franzak explains. “It enriches perspective on practice but also educational issues
and social issues. It engages growth in a way
that is both challenging and incredibly rewarding.”