Durham Tech receives $500,000 grant for campus-wide Information Technology upgrades

Durham Technical Community College
Aug 14, 2019

 

Funding will cover a new Advanced Innovation Lab and upgraded wireless service.

Durham Technical Community female IT student on tablet College will make several advancements to its Information Technology program and infrastructure with a recent $500,000 grant.

The donation was made by an anonymous donor and will allow the College to improve its Information Technology program and to upgrade the wireless service at all campus locations in an initiative known as the Durham Tech Advanced Innovation Learning Spaces, or DTAILS, project.

The central focus of the project is an Advanced Innovation Lab for Software Development and Web Development students. Students will learn such tasks as how to creatively solve problems to satisfy end users’ needs and will have access to cutting edge industry and open source methods/technology.

Improvements in the IT labs will allow students on and off campus to create and work on web and mobile applications with programming languages such as Java, C#, HTML, Swift, and Javascript and to perform database analysis with SQL, SAS, and Microsoft Access.

“The grant will enable us to upgrade and expand our lab equipment and software, improve our campuses wi-fi ability, and provide our community with improved access to leading edge technology,” said Thomas Murphy, Assistant Dean of Information Technologies at Durham Tech.

The new wireless system will upgrade and increase access points from 143 to 216, supporting more devices across all of the Durham Tech campuses in Durham and Orange counties.

“This new system will provide our students with additional wireless connectivity, more reliable wireless access, and improved network speeds,” said Patrick Hines, Executive Director and Chief Technology Officer of Information Technology Services at Durham Tech. “It gives us the ability to extend and improve the students experience beyond the classroom.”

The grant will also be used to purchase new computers, tablets, software licenses, and related technology.

“The IT industry in our region is growing and scaling rapidly. With this generous private investment, we will be able to advance our Information Technology program offerings and better prepare our students to enter into their chosen fields,” said Melissa Chappell, Executive Director of the Durham Tech Foundation.

The implementation of the DTAILS project’s components is scheduled to begin in August.

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Contact Stephanie Turner, Durham Tech Marketing and Media Relations Coordinator, at turners@durhamtech.edu.