El Camino College doubles down on commitment to technology education – Daily Breeze
Jobs in the technology industry are growing at an exponential rate and El Camino College is working to ensure its curriculum and resources are keeping pace — so that students don’t miss an opportunity to be part of the digital transformation.
This was the core subject at ECC’s annual State of the College, which took place on Friday, Nov. 4, and marked the college’s 75th anniversary.
“The changes we are seeing across multiple industries are astonishing and it’s really fast,” said El Camino College President/Superintendent Brenda Thames. “It takes a significant investment and commitment to keep up with new technologies and marketplace demands, but it is absolutely necessary.”
New technology jobs are not only plentiful, but are also high paying, with lots of room for advancement.
Thames said she wants students to contemplate careers in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, smart manufacturing, computer engineering, robotics, cybersecurity, virtual film production, cloud computing and more.
And in order to encourage students to get hands-on experience with different tools, the college has recently opened a new makerspace. This area hosts a video recording studio, a podcast/music studio, a virtual reality space, 3D printers, soldering equipment, AWS cars — scale-model, remote-controlled cars — and Wacom tablets.
“These new spaces are designed to show students all the possibilities available to them,” Thames said, “as they explore their interests and develop their ideas.”
On an academic level, the college, in the Torrance area, supports students’ technology careers through programs in engineering, computer science, cloud computing, cybersecurity, environmental tech, computer tech and electronics tech.
A key success story of the college’s push for digital education comes from three engineering students who are preparing to launch a 3D printer start-up with funding and support from NASA.
Their company, TechTonic 3D, is focused on producing high-quality 3D printers at a reasonable price to make them more accessible to consumers, and public and educational institutions. The students won a national competition to create a product or service using NASA-patented technologies and anticipate having a prototype by the end of the year.
“This is a really amazing experience I’m doing with my friends, because I’m also becoming an entrepreneur, and that’s something I’ve never done before, and I never thought I would have done,” said Moises Santander, TechTonic 3D cofounder. “And I’m just really grateful for all the resources and tools that El Camino College has provided us with to prepare us.”
The college is also working to place students directly into technology jobs after they complete their degrees through partnership programs with local companies.
An example of this is the Space, Cyber & Supply Talent Development Center, which ECC launched in partnership with Red Rocks Community College in May 2021. Both colleges are located in hubs of the aerospace industry, and the partnership aims to share best practices in aerospace, space, cybersecurity and supply chain education, as well as company connections for student job placements.
The college also works closely with the South Bay Workforce Improvement Board to create pathways into the workplace for students in all educational programs.
“El Camino was able to partner with the WIB to not only create pathways into the workforce while creating pathways into college,” Thames said, “but simultaneously make a real difference in economic outcomes for those students.
“There are stories of individuals going from making nothing,” she added, “to making $90 to $100 an hour.”
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