StartupBend

Category Archives: Education

Big Ideas Education By /

BendPoly Rebrands, Expands as GreenFig University in Multiple Cities

The founders of BendPoly debuted GreenFig University, an expanded version of the two-year-old digital marketing school, today at the Marketing Nation Summit in San Francisco. GreenFig University will offer micro degrees in digital marketing related topics and more, including customer success, product, sales and finance.

From the news release:

GreenFig University is the outcome of a highly successful two-year pilot program called BendPoly (www.bendpoly.com), located in Bend, Ore. More than 40 students participated in the BendPoly program with Marketo as a major sponsor and supporter. To date, more than 80 percent of the BendPoly graduates seeking roles in digital marketing have found positions in industry and government.

Bruce Cleveland, founding partner of Wildcat Ventures and co-founder of GreenFig University, says the first two years with BendPoly confirmed the demand from companies wanting qualified people to run Marketo and other digital marketing applications.

Education Events By /

Calling Techies, Makers and More: Partner with Students for Central Oregon’s First Make-a-Thon

If you love technology and learning and kids, then you’ll want to check out this awesome event happening next week. High Desert Career Technical Education is partnering with Skyview Middle School to launch Innovate Oregon’s Make-a-Thon program in Central Oregon. And they are seeking community professionals to participate on teams with students to make the event a success.

Make-a-Thon details:

What it is: At the Make-a-thon, teams comprised of a middle school student, an educator, and an industry professional will learn about and collectively create solutions using an electronic circuit board. No experience (or expertise) necessary! All materials will be provided; fun is guaranteed! This video from Yamhill County shows more about what the event will look like.

Education By /

E::SPACE and COCC Offering Intro to Linux Course, Starts Next Week

As part of their ongoing tech training partnership, E::SPACE Labs and COCC are offering a Linux course that begins April 6.

According to E::SPACE, the course will help you get more from technology “and remove the mystery of the operating system that powers everything from Internet services to Android devices to Raspberry Pi.”

This comprehensive class includes how to install programs, networking, scripting and lots more. Experience the freedom user-friendly Linux provides with instruction from an expert in Linux embedded systems. Learn how you can develop an embedded Linux device and get familiar with Linux behind-the-scenes. A combination of classroom and hands-on experience will give you an understanding of the functions, advantages and uses of the Linux Terminal, as well as the Graphical User Interface.

Big Ideas Education By /

Biz and Education Leaders Pursuing Entrepreneurship and Innovation High School for Bend

Sometimes the timing for things seems to be just right. That may be the case for a proposed magnet high school in Bend focused on entrepreneurship and innovation, aiming to open in the Fall 2018.

The concept is being developed jointly by Bend business leaders, local nonprofits Looking Forward and Opportunity Knocks, the High Desert Education Service District and the Bend-La Pine School District.

“What we’re excited about is that this is a partnership with our larger business community, and we’re really engaging with them in the design and concept of the school,” Jay Mathisen, deputy superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools, said this morning.

Back to that timing. Jay says that the district was already in the process of considering how to accommodate its growing student body at the high school level. At the same time, Preston Callicott, Five Talent CEO (and resident community doer) and the folks at Looking Forward (a whole group of doers) had been discussing the potential for an innovation and entrepreneurship-themed high school.

Big Ideas Education By /

Does Central Oregon Need More Product Managers? Survey Asks Employers Whether Local PM Program Could Help

How do you become a product manager or product marketer? In many cases, it’s via several years of on-the-job learning to master the skills you need for this key position.

However, some business and education leaders in the community are considering creating a product management certificate or degree program to fast track this process, and possibly fill a local talent gap as well. The group includes Cari Baldwin and Bruce Cleveland, the duo behind BendPoly; Yong Bakos, the new OSU-Cascades CS professor; Matt Abrams, with Seven Peaks; and Libby Unger, founder and CEO of Lumineau, a management consulting firm.

This process is just getting started. First, the group wants to know whether Central Oregon employers are in need of product managers. They’re asking companies to take this 10 question survey regarding the demand for the position, interest in product interns and their willingness to support a certificate or a degree program. Filling out the survey will just take five minutes.

Education By /

Hardware, Patents and More! ESPACE Teams Up w/ COCC, EDCO to Expand Fall Courses

ESPACE Labs has teamed up with a couple Central Oregon institutions in order to bring more electronic hardware learning and general inventor goodness to the masses. Opened just about a year, ESPACE is a local technology incubator focused on advancing the high-tech electronic hardware device industry.

So first up: ESPACE and Central Oregon Community College have partnered to offer five technology-related courses for the fall term. The courses offered are:

  • Introduction to Linux
  • Introduction to Arduino
  • Basic Electronics 101
  • Product Development
  • Raspberry Pi

Interested? You can find more information on COCC’s website and ESPACE’s website. There’s also a host of other hardware and entrepreneurship classes you can take as well.

But wait, there’s more. ESPACE has also partnered with EDCO to offer an all-day patent and product licensing workshop on Monday, Oct. 10th. The workshop is aimed at inventors, product developers and investors. It’s also the same week as the Bend Venture Conference, Venture Out and a host of other entrepreneur-related events. So if you’re in town, might as well make a week of it.

Big Ideas Education By /

Adventure Code School Debuts Bend Bootcamp; Learn More at Events in Seattle, PDX and Eugene

Do you know what’s a good idea? This: Adventure Code School. Bend web developer Chris Tsongas has created a code school that combines learning to code with all sorts of outdoor adventure and exercise, including rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and daily yoga.

The school’s first bootcamp begins in Bend this Sept. and runs 12 weeks. From the school’s website:

Start an awesome new career supported by yoga, meditation and amazing outdoor activities. Adventure Code School’s 12-week Full-Stack JavaScript Bootcamp teaches the most in-demand programming skills, plus Yoga for Coders™, meditation enhanced with binaural beat soundtracks, and expert instruction in mountain biking, slacklining, rock climbing and whitewater kayaking!

Education Events By /

Free 1-Month Startup Accelerator Starts May 3

Mark and Karl from the OSU Advantage Accelerator program stopped by yesterday to fill us in on their new program now available in Bend.

It’s called ‘Iterate’ and it’s an introduction to problem/solution fit for entrepreneurs who are interested in learning the basics of how to build a product or service that aligns with the problems it is expected to solve. It is the first of 3 available accelerator courses, which are the next steps in the program as companies successfully complete the Iterate curriculum.

Iterate runs for 1 month, and includes four two-hour sessions, running every Tuesday from 4:30 – 6:30pm, so it’s very practical for anyone who’s working full time to participate in. And since there’s no cost, it’s the best deal in town. If you move on to the ‘Accelerator’ program, there are costs, although they are very reasonable and mostly success-based, so you only pay if you reach a certain revenue threshold.