—Grand Circus, the coding school with campuses in downtown Detroit and Grand Rapids, is partnering with Facebook to offer a front-end developer bootcamp in October. The training course will combine Grand Circus’ front-end curriculum with React, an open-source JavaScript platform. Successful applicants will receive full scholarships and training in HTML5/CSS3, JavaSript, jQuery, React, Node.js, NPM, AJAX, and json. Participants will also get job assistance and guaranteed first-round interviews at Michigan technology firms. Applicants must commit to eight weeks of full-time schooling and two weeks of mandatory pre-work. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through early September; click here to apply.
—The Detroit Revitalization Fellows program has welcomed its 2017-2019 cohort to the Motor City. The nineteen fellows are mid-career professionals, chosen from a pool of more than 350 applicants, who will spend their time in Detroit leading projects related to neighborhood, commercial, and riverfront development; community engagement; and public health. They also are placed in full-time jobs at one of the program’s partner organizations, such as TechTown Detroit and Invest Detroit.
A recent impact report released by the program found that fellows have so far guided more than 50 projects, including the Detroit Public Lighting Authority, REVOLVE (which evolved into Motor City Match), and Motor City Mapping. It also found that more than 75 percent of the fellows remain in the city after their fellowships, one of the program’s goals.
—Do you work in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) career? The Mobile Technology Association of Michigan (MTAM) is building a library of short, self-produced smartphone videos of STEM professionals discussing the work that they do, why they love their jobs, the kind of education required for their jobs, and where they see STEM career opportunities in Michigan. To see or submit videos, head to the Michigan STEM Partnership or MTAM website. The goal of the project is to increase awareness of STEM education and employment, especially among kids.
MTAM, the Michigan STEM Partnership, and Technology in Motion (TIM) will also create a STEM career showcase at the TIM Detroit conference and trade show taking place Sept. 6-8.
—In more STEM news, the Bosch Community Fund has awarded more than $350,000 to 12 organizations in Farmington Hills and Plymouth that support STEM education, and environmental education and sustainability. The purpose of the grants is to fund education programs in the communities where Bosch has operations. Grant recipients include libraries, school districts, and teachers.
—Karamba Security, the Ann Arbor automotive cybersecurity startup, has joined the Automotive Grade Linux project, an effort to develop open-source best practices for connected cars. Assaf Harel, Karamba’s chief technology officer, will serve on the AGL app framework and security group to help with developing and influencing cybersecurity guidelines.
—Small businesses and startups are invited to a free public workshop hosted by Auxiom to learn cybersecurity basics. The event, which will be at Bamboo Detroit on Sept. 12, will focus on low-cost, proactive steps businesses can take to better protect their data. Pre-registration is required.
—Parker Village, a Highland Park community and training center rooted in technology, has released renderings for its upcoming development project. Working with OHM Advisors and Soulardarity, Parker Village plans to build a co-working space, STEAM lab, aquaponics operation, media studio, and more in the tiny enclave neighboring Detroit. Check out the Parker Village Facebook page for details.
—Duo Security, the Ann Arbor-based cybersecurity startup, has once again landed on the Forbes Cloud 100 list, which recognizes the most valuable private cloud companies in the world. Ranked 45th, Duo was praised by the magazine for being able to run with the big dogs in Silicon Valley despite being located in Michigan. Duo was also named to the list last year, when it came in at number 58.
—The Workforce Intelligence Network for Southeast Michigan, on behalf of the Advance Michigan Defense Collaborative, has published a skills-gap report analyzing nearly 350,000 cybersecurity-related job postings nationally from July 2015 to June 2016 to better understand future workforce demands in the sector. Separating the jobs into four categories—frontline cybersecurity workers, cyber-sensitive service workers, physical security and access workers, and indirect cyber-related workers—analysts looked at job postings and identified 39 state institutions offering related programs, degrees, or training.
