Education | The Contracting Education Academy

May 15, 2018 By AMK

This is what Georgia Tech thinks college will look like in 2040

The Georgia Institute of Technology has a fondness for bold experiments.

It created the nation’s largest online master’s program in computer science, which won praise for its quality and low cost. It is home to the Center for 21st Century Universities, a “living laboratory” for educational innovation. It introduced artificially intelligent tutors in the classrooms. And it is reimagining the campus library to focus less on books and more on teaching, research, and collaboration.

Three years ago, the university took this experimentation a step further when it established the Commission on Creating the Next in Education, asking it to imagine the public research university of 2040 and beyond. Which business and funding models will become outdated? How will Georgia Tech best serve the next generations of learners?

The commission’s report, recently released, contains a number of provocative ideas. Among them: new credentials that recognize continuous learning, a subscription fee model instead of tuition, “education stations” that bring services and experiences to students, and worldwide networks of advisers and coaches for life.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.chronicle.com/article/This-Is-What-Georgia-Tech/243400

Read the report prepared by Georgia Tech’s Commission on Creating the Next in Education at: http://www.provost.gatech.edu/cne-home

May 13, 2016 By AMK

Academy’s program manager appointed to national academic panel

The National Contract Management Association (NCMA) has invited Donna Bertrand, program manager for The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech, to become an inaugural member of the Association’s Academic Advisory Council, spearheaded by NCMA’s Professional Education Committee.

Donna G. Bertrand, The Academy’s program manager, has been appointed a member of the National Contract Management Association’s Academic Advisory Council. — **Donna G. Bertrand, the Academy’s program manager, has been appointed a member of the National Contract Management Association’s Academic Advisory Council.**

NCMA is the world’s leading professional resource for those in the field of contract management. The organization, which has over 20,000 members, is dedicated to the professional growth and educational advancement of procurement and acquisition personnel worldwide. NCMA serves and informs the acquisition profession and offers opportunities for the open exchange of ideas in neutral forums. NCMA provides a robust certification program and sponsors training through two major conferences each year. NCMA’s next educational event is its annual World Congress, to be held in July of this year, which is expected to bring together over 1,800 contract management professionals for three days of education and networking, including keynote speakers who are government and industry leaders in contracting and acquisition, over 100 customized training sessions, and various networking opportunities.

Contract management professionals are well-paid and highly educated, earning an average salary of $103,600 with 46 percent possessing a master’s degree (Source: 2015 NCMA Annual Salary Survey). Typical entry-level personnel have a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 24 hours of business credit. The almost 40,000 government personnel alone who occupy the contract specialist position are required to achieve and maintain three levels of certification throughout their career and oftentimes satisfy the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-mandated requirement to earn 80 continuous learning points every two years through higher education. Industry employees seek certification through NCMA as well.

In accepting NCMA’s nomination to join NCMA’s newly formed Academic Advisory Council (AAC), Bertrand will join other representatives from academia interested in the professional growth and education of the contracting community. The AAC will interact with and advise NCMA’s Professional Education Committee as it supports programs and initiatives aimed at the contract management workforce.

AAC’s first meeting is scheduled for July 25, 2016 at NCMA’s World Congress event in Orlando, Florida.

March 11, 2015 By AMK

Georgia Tech students receive presidential pep talk

President Barack Obama gave shout-outs to George P. Burdell, the Ramblin’ Wreck, and even thermodynamics homework when he came to Georgia Tech on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 to announce his Student Aid Bill of Rights.

The President of the United States visited Georgia Tech on March 10th to encourage the pursuit of higher education and how he hopes to make it more affordable and accessible. — The President of the United States visited Georgia Tech on March 10th to encourage the pursuit of higher education and discuss how he hopes to make it more affordable and accessible.

“It’s great to be at one of the finest technical institutes in the world,” Obama said. “You’ve got to be if the Ramblin’ Wreck is still running after all these years.”

Nearly 10,000 students, faculty, staff, and guests gathered in McCamish Pavilion to hear from the president, who spent about 30 minutes encouraging students in the pursuit of higher education and talking about ways he hopes to make it more affordable and accessible.

He outlined steps his administration has already taken, such as tax credit expansion, additional Pell Grant funds, and an income-based repayment program.

The President stated he believes higher education is the best investment one can make in themselves and in their country — particularly at Georgia Tech.

He also asked for support from the crowd for a new declaration of values he called the Student Aid Bill of Rights. The set of four principles complements a memorandum calling for the Department of Education and other federal agencies to do more to help borrowers afford their loan payments.

“It was really relevant because I’m applying to medical school for next year and didn’t have to take out loans for my undergrad, but I’m going to have to take them out for grad school,” said Deeti Pithadia, a biochemistry major who attended the speech.

‘One of the best bargains around’

President Obama encouraged students to keep up their long nights studying complex material, saying it would be worth it, as he believes higher education is the best investment they can make in themselves and in their country — particularly at Georgia Tech.

“It’s been established time and time again that Georgia Tech is one of the best bargains around — which is one of the reasons I’m here,” he said.

He commended Tech for its collaboration with the White House on promoting advanced manufacturing, unlocking the mysteries of the brain, and helping more students become entrepreneurs. He cited Georgia Tech’s Online Master in Computer Science program as an innovative way to increase value and use technology to expand access to higher education.

Obama also took the time to acknowledge other politicians and leaders in the audience, including Georgia Tech’s own President G.P. “Bud” Peterson, whose shout-out was met with raucous applause.

“You’ve got a high approval rating,” Obama said.

‘Such an honor’

President Obama encouraged students to not only persevere in their studies, but also to “mobilize” to help make college more affordable for themselves and others.

“Young people typically lead the path with new ideas, initiatives, focus, and vision,” he said. “Don’t stop engaging this issue, even after you graduate. In the meantime, study hard, work hard, have fun, make new discoveries, inspire us, lead us.”

Obama made a slow exit from McCamish, taking time to shake hands with many students as he passed.

Vett Vandiver, a graduate student in public policy, had the chance to shake Obama’s hand and tell him he was her hero.

“As a grad student planning to start my career in public service, I’ve dreamed of meeting President Obama since he first started his campaign,” she said. “It was such an honor to witness his remarks and meet him. I’m eternally grateful that Georgia Tech made this experience possible.”

Tiffany Davis, an aerospace engineering major, had the privilege of introducing the president (in place of George P. Burdell, he mentioned). Davis had written a letter to President Obama about college affordability one night last year while taking a study break. To her surprise, she received a letter back. He commiserated that it had once been a struggle for him to afford college as well.

“She didn’t mention that her letter was also to procrastinate from doing thermodynamics homework,” Obama said.

Jen Abrams, a public policy major, led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance, and Maggie Bridges, a business administration major who also is the current Miss Georgia, sang the national anthem prior to the president’s arrival. While students waited, the Yellow Jacket Marching Band entertained. The landing of Air Force One was aired live from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and students cheered as they caught a glimpse of President Obama before the final leg of his trip to meet them.

Excitement building up to the president’s visit began last Friday when lines of students snaked through campus waiting to procure a ticket for the event. Students waited up to three hours then, with some waiting another six hours Tuesday morning to be the first in line to see the president. They passed the time playing cards and games, reading, and studying.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Sonika Fitch, a computer engineering major. “I don’t know why anyone would be anywhere else today.”

Source: http://www.news.gatech.edu/features/students-pack-mccamish-presidential-pep-talk

February 20, 2015 By AMK

Fixing acquisition: An opportunity lost?

We’ve spent more than a decade ignoring a simple warning of the 2002 Volcker Commission: We are trying to run a 21st century government on a mid-20th century, industrial age business model. A series of surveys of acquisition professionals the Professional Services Council and Grant Thornton have conducted during the last 12 years have consistently flagged the implications of that omission for the federal acquisition workforce. Our 2014 survey, released Jan. 22, shows that the government remains mired in old models. This should be disturbing to anyone who recognizes the critical role acquisition plays in the execution of the government’s missions.

Consider this: In all seven surveys, respondents—who are all government personnel, many from the senior echelons of the workforce—overwhelmingly identified general business acumen, risk identification and mitigation, negotiating skills and knowledge of buying complex technology capabilities as significant gaps in the federal acquisition workforce’s skills. Other, more obvious forces were also identified as inhibiting optimal performance—including the budget insanity that has made it nearly impossible for any agency to optimize operations during the last several years—but the general conclusion has been the same for almost the entire time we have been conducting this survey. Simply put, the workforce does not have the skills needed to do the job as well as everyone wants, and demands. This not a failure of the workforce, but of our collective slowness to recognize the need for major change in how we train, educate and support that workforce.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2015/01/fixing-acquisition-opportunity-lost/104070

January 28, 2015 By AMK

Survey: Acquisition workforce falling behind on training

The buyers of products and services across government are not receiving the fresh training or modern skill sets needed to innovate and acquire the complex technology called for in today’s agency missions, according to a survey of federal acquisition employees released on Thursday.

“The acquisition workforce’s skills in areas such as business acumen, negotiation, risk mitigation and understanding complex information technology fall well short of what acquisition professionals say is required,” said Stan Soloway, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council. PSC and Grant Thornton prepared the seventh edition of a biannual survey titled “A Closing Window: Are We Missing the Opportunity for Change?”

“This not a failure of the workforce,” Soloway said, “but a result of our collective slowness to recognize the need for major change” in education and support.

In a session with reporters, he cited frustrations over a “growing gap” between acquisition specialists and the end users who increasingly say the technology being delivered isn’t suitable.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2015/01/survey-acquisition-workforce-falling-behind-training/103512/

See more on this topic at: http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=1719

The Georgia Institute of Technology has a fondness for bold experiments.

The National Contract Management Association (NCMA) has invited Donna Bertrand, program manager for The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech, to become an inaugural member of the Association’s Academic Advisory Council, spearheaded by NCMA’s Professional Education Committee.

President Barack Obama gave shout-outs to George P. Burdell, the Ramblin’ Wreck, and even thermodynamics homework when he came to Georgia Tech on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 to announce his Student Aid Bill of Rights.

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