NYIT-Vancouver's student showcase lets employers know about its graduates' capabilities

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      Since 2015, NYIT-Vancouver has been hosting well-attended student showcases to let prospective employers know about projects from its programs.

      The graduate school’s associate director of student affairs and career services, Logan Lorenz, told the Straight that at this year’s event, there will be up to 16 projects at the showcase completed by one or more students in the following disciplines: management; information, network, and computer security; energy management; and instructional technology.

      “It’s mainly aimed at connecting graduating students or students close to completion of their programs with professionals in industry,” Lorenz explained. “There will also be staff, faculty, and some of our recent alumni at the event as well.”

      The student showcase will take place in the evening on April 9 at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue (580 West Hastings Street).

      According to Lorenz, each group of students will create an academic poster summarizing the work that students performed on each project. The networking segment will include some food and beverages.

      “Another large objective is helping students learn how to articulate the skills and knowledge that they’ve learned throughout their program,” Lorenz added. “Part of that is done through the academic posters in terms of limiting and concisely representing knowledge.”

      NYIT-Vancouver is the Vancouver campus of the New York Institute of Technology, which also has campuses in New York, Arkansas, United Arab Emirates, and China.

      Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the institute offers two MBA programs with concentrations in management and finance at its Vancouver campus at 701 West Georgia Street. That’s also where it offers graduate degrees in energy management and instructional technology.

      Its cybersecurity programs, which have 300 students, are at the Broadway Tech Centre near Renfrew Station. Lorenz noted that cybersecurity students often come into NYIT-Vancouver with undergraduate degrees in computer science or related fields.

      “The full name of the program really does lay out the three big areas: one is around information security, one is around network security, and one is around computer security,” he said. “Cybersecurity is a really rapidly growing and ever-important field.”

      Lorenz pointed out that cybersecurity is also relevant in instructional technology because people working in this area must consider security. He said that this graduate program has a heavy focus on K-12 learning and it offers educators a chance to gain a master’s degree and work in instructional technology. The program also attracts students who want to become trainers with large companies.

      Energy-management grads have a wide range of career options, including conducting energy audits, reducing the carbon footprint of buildings, and working in the resource-extraction industry. The program received a grant from B.C. Housing to create a lab with stations focusing on different energy technologies.

      The MBA programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. “So many of our students graduating from that program are interested in working in an office environment,” Lorenz said. “I’ve recently seen a lot of students going into banking.”

      NYIT-Vancouver attracts a significant number of international students. Lorenz said they undergo a great deal of personal and professional development during their time in Vancouver.

      “I work really closely with them to make sure we’re getting relevant and up-to-date information about the jobs and industries that our students will be entering once they graduate,” he stated.

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