Recently, SPC’s College of Computer & information Technology (CCIT) worked with other local educators to host an Exploratory Lab as a way to fill the technology gap and connect students with local employers.
Eight St. Petersburg College students were among 22 who took part in the inaugural Tampa Bay Technology Forum Exploratory Labs held March 23-27.
A team of educators from SPC’s College of Computer and Information Technology and the University of South Florida worked with professionals from Tech Data, Val Pak and the Tampa Bay Technology Forum to develop the program. Students learned about:
- Business Planning
- Understanding Technology Trends
- Integrated Marketing Strategies
- Emotional Intelligence
- Taking Business Risks
- Networking Stack
- Video/Collaboration
- Software Licensing
- Web E-Commerce
- Data Center and Cloud Storage
- UX and Design Thinking
- Agile and Lean Development
- Security
- Data Analytics
One student who recently completed the program was Giny Kapili. She is currently pursuing a BAS in Technology Management with a sub plan in Software Development. Though Kapili initially pursued teaching, her love for technology was sparked when she helped a friend with a WordPress blog. Later, she took a class in HTML. Since she enjoyed that class, she took some programming courses with SPC professors Adrian Tillman and Brad Yourth. As a result, she now has a certificate in Java Programming and is now pursuing Oracle.
“I knew I was passionate about teaching, but when I started to code, it was exciting; from then on, I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life,” said Kapili.
Kapili found the Exploratory Lab to be a rewarding experience where she was able to interact with people from various backgrounds and apply what she learned by developing a business plan.
Overall, Kapili said that this experience built confidence, instilled valuable skill sets and provided excellent networking opportunities, which were valuable to students who were seeking internships.