SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, February 15, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- San Jose City College’s (SJCC) innovative Technest program was recently selected as a finalist for the prestigious Bellwether Award.

The Bellwether Award, which is presented in three categories: Instructional Programs & Services; Planning, Governance & Finance; and Workforce Development, is widely regarded as the nation’s most competitive and prestigious recognition awards for community colleges. They are designed to identify outstanding and innovative programs which can then be shared and implemented as best practices at other colleges.

Out of hundreds of submissions, only ten programs from across the nation are selected as finalists for each category. Technest, which is a collaboration between SJCC; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); and Integrated Device Technology, Inc., a leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance, mixed-signal semiconductors solutions for the communications, computing, and consumer industries, was named a finalist in the Workforce Development category.

“It is truly an honor to have been named a finalist for a Bellwether Award in the Workforce Development category,” said SJCC Acting President Roland Montemayor. “Only the most innovative new programs from across the country earn this distinction, and we’re pleased to be able to share this outstanding collaboration on a larger scale.”

Technest was created at SJCC with the goal of increasing access to IT careers for underrepresented groups by offering low-cost training in coding, data science, and Internet of Things technology. In addition to the educational and industry collaborators, workforce development partners provide career counseling, job development, and on-the-job training opportunities to participating students.

“We strive to have MIT perspectives and knowledge impact as many people as possible through our Open Learning programs, OpenCourseWare and MITx,” said Dana Doyle, director of the MITx Program. “Having this kind of collaboration helps us further MIT’s mission ‘to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.’ We look forward to continuing our work with SJCC.”

This spring, Technest students can study either Python computer programming or data science, with both courses offered at both the main SJCC campus in San Jose and the SJECCD Milpitas Extension.

“Technest is a prime example of what education in the 21st century needs to become. It emphasizes project-based learning and hands-on implementation over theory. It is exceptionally well integrated with industry and has increased the motivation of leading companies to be more involved,” said Gregory Waters, president, and CEO of Integrated Device Technology. “Perhaps best of all, Technest is training people for what is coming in the new information economy – which creates opportunity for everyone.”

The Bellwether College Consortium, which created the Bellwether Award, is a group of colleges charged with addressing the critical issues facing community colleges through relevant research and the promotion and replication of best practices.

Ryan Brown
SJECCD
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