May 5, 2014 (Baltimore, MD) Graduate students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) today completed a collaborative strategic planning project with two local companies: Laurel-based Mobern Lighting, which provides high-quality lighting products, and Parking Vault, a start-up based in Bethesda, which offers an innovative automatic parking system. 

Two teams, each comprised of three UMBC Engineering Management students, designed strategic business plans for the companies, under the guidance and direction of senior executives from the two firms, Frans van Wagenberg, President of Van Wagenberg-Festen Inc. (Parking Vault), and Mobern President Bill Stone.

The course, co-taught by Bob Fenton and Illysa Izenberg, is designed to help UMBC graduate students learn about the complexities and opportunities of strategic management by working hands-on with real companies providing strategic management consulting. Partnerships with Mobern Lighting and Parking Vault were secured through the assistance of Walter Townshend, President of the Baltimore-Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce (BWCC)

“Overall, it was a great learning experience for our students and for UMBC,” said Fenton. “We want our students to gain real-world experience in the Baltimore area, and we hope that the companies gained business benefits by collaborating with us.”

The collaboration provided students with insight to the complexities of real-world business planning and provided them with invaluable lessons and experiences.  Partnering companies benefited from the collaboration as well. 

“Our entire staff was quite impressed with the students’ professionalism and expertise,” Stone said. “We had expected a perfunctory overview of a strategy, but was instead provided with a detailed plan that pointed out areas of concern and more importantly, possible opportunities to capitalize on in the coming years.”

UMBC is offering a variety of Pro Tools Certification Training courses this summer, including: Pro Tools 101, Pro Tools 110, Pro Tools 201 and Pro Tools 210M. The non-credit training courses offer those who work in, or want to work in, audio production the opportunity to advance their careers by gaining skills to excel within the industry.

A former UMBC Pro Tools Training participant said: "I can't tell you how much I've benefited from the courses thus far. I notice it every time I sit down to work. It has been one of the best career investments I've made.”

Pro Tools 101 (May 27-29) provides participants with the basic skills to succeed with Pro Tools, from initial set-up to final production.

Pro Tools 110 (June 10-12) provides a more detailed look at Pro Tools as a system, taking the overview provided by 101 and going deeper into every aspect.

Pro Tools 201 (June 17-19) covers the core concepts and skills needed to operate a Pro Tools HDX or HD system in a professional studio environment, with special emphasis on editing and mixing, including automation.

Pro Tools 210M (July 1-3) covers advanced techniques for working with Pro Tools systems in professional music environments, with an emphasis on MIDI, arrangement tools and synchronization concepts.

UMBC Professor and Avid Certified Instructor David Revill will lead the sessions. Revill has worked in audio production for more than 20 years, and is one of the small number of Avid-certified Pro Tools Experts in the country. There is limited space available for each session, so those interested are encouraged to register early to secure their spot. Participants who register for two or more summer Pro Tools sessions will receive a 10% discount on all registration costs.

Learn more and access registration at umbc.edu/protools. 

With over 10,000 cyber security-related job postings last year in Maryland, a 97% increase in the past 5 years, the number of cyber security jobs in Maryland is growing faster than the national average, the Baltimore Business Journal reported on March 5. Baltimore alone had 4,514 cyber jobs posted in 2013. However, with the demand for jobs outgrowing supply rapidly, the issue at hand is not simply finding employees to fill those positions, but finding employees who are experienced enough and capable of filing those positions. This could indicate why it took cyber security jobs 36% longer to fill than all jobs nationally last year. Approximately 80% of job postings require candidates to have a bachelor’s degree at the very least and more than 60% require candidates to have at least four years of experience, signifying that education and experience plays a key factor in the selection process.

Read the full article here: http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/blog/cyberbizblog/2014/03/cyber-security-jobs-baltimore-maryland.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2014-03-05