To encourage prospective students to seek higher education in computer science, schools are hosting conferences that help raise awareness of the shortage of these professionals. Future degree holders may benefit from attending these events by learning about employment opportunities in this field.
Marist College announced this week it will hold a national conference focused on the high demand for professionals in the enterprise computing industry. The National Science Foundation gave a $400,000 grant to assist in bringing professors and industry representatives together to discuss ways to improve college curriculum across the nation in several fields, such as computer science and information technology.
The two-day conference will feature informative discussions on open-source applications, green data centers, cloud computing, enterprise applications for social causes as well as security technology and policy in large organizations.
"Industry and government are struggling to attract new technologists to replace aging workers who manage the enterprise computing systems that are vital to continued economic growth and national security," said Roger Norton, dean of the school of computer science and mathematics at Marist College. He added that with a lack of professionals, many American industries may suffer including "banking, commerce, healthcare, public safety, transportation and the military."
The employment of computer scientists is projected to grow by 24 percent, which is much faster than the average of all other occupations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.
