Development of a Data Analytics Education Pathway

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

Data analytics technicians support cyber defense and cyber operations within the vast network of U.S. military and National Security Agency strategic efforts, as well as in a growing number of businesses and industries. To meet the need for data analytics technicians, this project at Honolulu Community College aims to create and implement a Data Analytics career pathway, in collaboration with the Information Technology Management Department at the Shidler College of Business (University of Hawaii, Manoa). The project aims to: (1) make Honolulu Community College a regional hub for training data analytics technicians, phasing in a multi-entry, multi-exit career pathway; (2) address workforce development needs for Hawaii's strategic defense role in the Pacific Rim; (3) increase participation by Native Hawaiian students, women, and veterans in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers; and (4) develop five innovative data analytics courses featuring state-of-the-art virtual labs. Government offices and companies will provide feedback on project activities, as well as offer internship opportunities for students in the program. All project content will be publicly available on www.pcatt.org, for use by other groups interested in building data analytics technician programs. To prepare graduates for jobs as data analytics technicians, the project will develop a Data Analytics Certificate of Achievement within the associate of science degree program in Computing, Electronics, and Networking Technology at Honolulu Community College. Where possible, courses for the Data Analytics Certificate of Achievement will be developed by curating and repurposing content from ATE centers and projects, such as Oceans of Data Institute in Massachusetts and the DATA project in Ohio. The program plans to build a bridge between Honolulu Community College and the Shidler College of Business by involving Honolulu Community College and Shidler College of Business students in team activities and by developing an articulation agreement that supports the transition of Honolulu Community College students into the Data Analytics Specialization at the university. The project will also collaborate with the Hawaii and California information technology (IT) apprenticeship efforts (funded by the US Department of Labor) to seed the adoption of an IT apprenticeship as an option to the trades and increase enrollments in the Data Analytics Certificate of Achievement program. (These states integrate community college credit into IT apprenticeships so that the internship supports progress toward a credential or degree.) The project aims to increase participation of Native Hawaiian students, women, and veterans in STEM careers by: (a) coordinating with business partners for inter-island academic year projects that will allow virtual high school teams to address local issues via data analysis; and (b) juxtaposing an ongoing GenCyber camp at Honolulu Community College with a new Hawaii Open Data Analytics Academy that will include projects with cultural and generational relevance. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.