CUNY will now offer advanced software development program for computer science majors
New partnerships will also bring highly regarded programming courses to CUNY for the public at large
New York – Today, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn along with CUNY, Tipping Point, General Assembly, and the Queens Coalition announced the start of two new programs that will train more New Yorkers in high-demand computer programming languages. These programs are the first time CUNY will be working with leaders in the tech sector, including major New York City employers, to develop the curriculums to ensure the content is up-to-date and relevant to the wants and needs of the employers in the industry. This initiative was first announced in Speaker Quinn’s 2012 State of the City Address.
The first program is an Advanced Software Development Program at CUNY for Computer Science majors or masters students. This program’s curriculum was developed in conjunction with Tipping Point Partners as well as other New York City Tech firms and will include online instruction, classroom and lab instruction, and lectures by industry professionals and will involve a significant amount of time doing “pair programming,” a common technique utilized at many firms in which programmers work in pairs. The program is designed to improve students’ technical abilities, refine their communication skills, and build business acumen to help better address real-world business and product needs. These skills were identified by the tech companies as critical to workplace success, but often in short supply among recent college graduates.
The other new program is a Programing Language Course through a partnership with General Assembly, Queens Coalition and CUNY. This will bring General Assembly’s programming courses to CUNY and will allow both CUNY students and the public at large to gain the skills needed to pursue a career in the high-tech sector. The program will not be limited to Queens residents and graduates would come out with a highly respected certificate from General Assembly.
These new innovative programs come after Speaker Quinn convened industry stakeholders and representatives at CUNY to how to address the problem that NYC’s tech firms are hiring but can’t find qualified programmers.
In addition to these new programs, CUNY has taken up Speaker Quinn’s challenge and are offering “a la carte” classes in other tech languages including Ruby on Rails […]
“As we in government strive to create more jobs throughout New York City, it’s important to first do what we can to ensure New Yorkers are prepared for current job openings in our city’s burgeoning tech sector,” said City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “I’m proud to partner with CUNY, General Assembly, Tipping Point Partners, and Queens Coalition to the ensure new Yorkers are adequately qualified […]. This will put us one step closer to never having to hear another employer say “developers are hard to find in NY.”
###