The $1 million Q-SUCCEED-CNY program is funded through the National Science Foundation in a partnership with Micron Technology to seed interest in careers working with semiconductors, optics and quantum technology.
“Through this project, we raise awareness about the impact of emerging technologies on our local community with the hope of inspiring more community members to pursue careers in the emerging-tech sector,” said Mo Hasanovic, an SU assistant teaching professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
The first group of 20 participants have started, Hasanovic said. Over the next three years, the program will accept five more groups of 20.
He’s giving a free talk about the opportunity April 1 at Syracuse Center of Excellence’s April Research and Technology Forum. Reserve a spot here.
Applications for the Q-SUCCEED-CNY program are open now.
Hasanovic is marketing the program to adults who want to change their careers, veterans looking for a new pathway and anyone else interested in high-tech or emerging tech.
The goal isn’t to prepare participants to start work in the field right away, but to expose them to the fields.
It’s meant to be beginner-friendly, Hasanovic said, and build confidence in the idea of pursuing a job in the field.
“We are trying to tap into a larger community that has no prior technical background and awareness of this field, not those community members who already have tech background or who have already decided to pursue tech careers,” he said.
Q-SUCCEED-CNY, by the way, stands for Quantum and Semi-Conductor Upskilling for Career Change through Experiential Education Deployment in Central New York.
The students will get to visit places like AIM Photonics and Toptica Photonics, and learn about the educational routes they could take to start a career in the industry, Hasanovic said.
Ideally, people who complete the program will go on to get certifications and degrees through places like Onondaga Community College, the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services or Syracuse University’s College of Professional Services, Hasanovic said.
Then, they could go on to work in the semiconductor industry, at larger companies like Micron and Wolfspeed in Utica, or at smaller companies in that supply the semiconductor ecosystem, Hasanovic said.
“A lot of these skills are transferrable and there is a big demand for these professions such as instrumentation technicians, test technicians, photonics and laser technicians, and semiconductor equipment operators,” he said.
Hasanovic’s planning to coordinate the program with other state programs designed to encourage growth in the tech workforce in Central New York, including the state’s ONRAMP program in Syracuse.
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