NCS, Dignitas Technologies inspire future M&S workforce

The National Center for Simulation (NCS) and Dignitas Technologies recently collaborated to engage, inspire and financially support the future modeling and simulation workforce at Crooms Academy of Information Technology (Crooms AOIT).

For the past 13 years, the Crooms AOIT Business AdvisoryCouncil (BAC) has organized TechFest, an educational fundraising event, toraise funds for scholarships and to support career and college-relatedactivities for their students. This year, TechFest XIII, which took place March14, encouraged community guests and parents to join the students in learningopportunities that included keynote speakers, workshops and interactions withindustry members in the exhibit hall.

“National Center for Simulation serves on the Crooms AOITBAC and has not missed a TechFest yet!” said Hank Okraski, NCS board member andchair for the Education and Workforce Development Committee.  “We not only participate as a sponsor forTechFest, but every year we set up a booth on the exhibit floor to educatestudents and families about the many high-tech career opportunities in themodeling, simulation and training industry (MS&T). It’s so important tocontinue to share the need and opportunity to our students.”

Located in Sanford, Florida, Crooms AOIT offers 687 highschool students an opportunity to learn through specialization in programming,multimedia design technology, game and simulation, network systems technologiesand cybersecurity.

Elizabeth Burch, president and CEO of Dignitas Technologies,a small woman-owned business, is one of the NCS member companies that activelysupports STEM initiatives in the schools through events like TechFest, and alsoprovides internship opportunities to students.

“We find great benefit in being involved in STEM-relatedevents with the high schools because it gives us the opportunity to encourageand influence our younger generation of future engineers, as well as help themdevise paths and direction for their careers,” Burch said. “It also gives usthe opportunity as a business to meet and potentially hire and help grow ourfuture employees.”

Dignitas employees, including a former Crooms AOIT graduate,set up two virtual reality training systems. Students and community members hadthe opportunity to experience sitting in the cockpit of a helicopter andunderstand more clearly how industry uses simulation to train helicoptermaintenance technicians. Students also had the opportunity to “play in thedirt” through their interaction with a construction equipment virtual realitytrainer.

“The hands-on experience provided the opportunity to askquestions about careers from the simulation user and creators’ perspectives,”Okraski added. “National Center for Simulation and Dignitas Technologies notonly engaged and inspired the future MS&T workforce, but we left TechFestXIII inspired by the future workforce!”

Aside from working alongside the schools, NCS also offersscholarship opportunities to seniors graduating from several high schools andtechnical schools across Central Florida, including Crooms AOIT. At least onesenior from Crooms AOIT will be awarded a $1000 scholarship based on a studentapplication process.