Creating an Innovative Future Workforce
NI has invested in a wealth of training programs to help students of all ages, backgrounds, and geographies build resume-ready skills using professional tools, so they can graduate well prepared for technical careers and have access to fulfilling job opportunities. From the peer-to-peer NI LabVIEW Student Ambassador program, in which NI student ambassadors teach other students at their university, to the hundreds of LabVIEW Academy sites around the globe where educators deliver a formal LabVIEW curriculum, NI offers students a multitude of on-site opportunities to learn LabVIEW.
Students can also tap into free online resources including the self-paced video training modules in the LabVIEW 101 program. Educators have access to a worldwide network of NI users, dedicated support teams, and supplemental training options, so they can teach with confidence, knowing that their course is engaging and relevant and that it makes the best use of classroom time with NI training options.
Year in Review
2011 Highlights
700 professors trained in using LabVIEW
Provided 183 internship positions to engineering students
1,700 students learned LabVIEW as a direct result of the Student Ambassador program
2011 Challenges
Shortage of primary and secondary teachers adequately trained to teach science, engineering, and math
Time constraints faced by students and educators
2012 Commitments
Equip educators with training in LabVIEW
Connect students certified in LabVIEW with companies seeking their skills
Help students reach minimum proficiency in LabVIEW
2011 Data and Results
The LabVIEW Student Ambassador Program: Students Teaching Students
Kim Pierson
LabVIEW Academy Instructor and Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Kim Pierson began teaching LabVIEW after learning that it could help his students get jobs. He taught LabVIEW for about 10 years and developed three courses, each of which took a considerable amount of time. Then, Kim was introduced to the LabVIEW Academy curriculum. “I like this material because it is designed to help students pass the Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer (CLAD) exam, which gives them a certain level of accreditation so that companies can be confident they are hiring someone who can make contributions right away,” he said. “I’ve found that to get a competitive advantage out in the workplace, students need to be trained on LabVIEW, and the best way for me to help them do that is through the LabVIEW Academy curriculum.”