Professional Training

By Padraig Ryan

John Bruno chuckles looking back at the dismal outcome of his first computer course more than 40 years ago.

“It was the only course I ever failed,” Bruno said. “I remember my professor telling me never to go near a computer in my career.”

Luckily, Bruno, 63, didn’t listen. In fact, he aced his subsequent computer tech classes. That opened a 40-year career in information technology, where he helped revolutionize data management on Wall Street. He even taught coding courses at night.

After retiring, Bruno took on a new challenge, to create a regulatory and compliance application and build it himself. Feeling a bit rusty in his coding skills, he enrolled in the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp, a six-month intensive program offered by the Division of Continuing Studies.

At Rutgers, math teachers are looking at problem solving from entirely new angles, and having exponentially more fun in the process. Rutgers Math Teachers' Circle formed as a collaboration between the Rutgers Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education and the Rutgers Math Department. Learn more about Math Teachers' Circle and other educator workshops at cmsce.rutgers.edu.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Some of the nation’s top experts in online education and hybrid learning will share innovations and best practices at the Rutgers Online Learning Conference (RUOnlineCon) March 13, 2017 at the Hilton Doubletree in Somerset, NJ. Registration is available at ruonlinecon.rutgers.edu. The conference will explore available and emerging technologies, use of learning management systems, ancillary software and sites, new instructional methods, assessments, audio/video elements, and faculty training and resources.

By Padraig Ryan

Nancy Lukas, who retired in 2015 after spending 20 years as a teacher, always loved technology. She was one of the first teachers to have her own website, loved using a SmartBoard and made her fourth grade students create podcasts about important environmental issues.

Still, Nancy, who has always liked a good challenge, never thought this lifelong interest would take her on a totally different career path. That was until her daughter told her about the

Rutgers Coding Bootcamp, a six-month intensive program offered by the Rutgers Division of Continuing Studies that provides the skills needed to become a “full stack” software coder.

“There’s no way I ever pictured myself going in a different direction,” said Nancy, 52, who taught high school, middle school and elementary school students, both English and math. “I imagined teaching for 20 more years but I decided that I had other talents that I needed to explore.”

By Padraig Ryan

Cristal King—who left her job as a programmer and analyst more than a decade ago to take care of her young family—knew she needed to sharpen her skills and learn new computer language in order to get back into the rapidly changing technology job market.

“Before I left, web development wasn’t nearly as advanced and robust as it is now,” said Cristal. “I know how quickly technology changes and I knew that I needed to have the skill-set that goes along with it.”

According to the Harvard Business Review, 90 percent of women who leave their jobs to take care of their family, like Cristal, said they want to reboot their careers and get back into the workforce.

Cristal wasn’t sure exactly where to go to get the training she needed to make this happen. When she first decided that she wanted a job in technology, after working as a sales representative for U.S. Healthcare, she enrolled and graduated from The Chubb Institute. At the time, web development was still in its infancy.

By Padraig Ryan

They may vary in age and have different personal and professional backgrounds but a team of women who recently completed an intensive six-month computer coding program at Rutgers believes that women need to stick together to move forward in the high-tech industry. 

“Women represent more than half of our population,” said Nancy Lukas, a former teacher who graduated from Rutgers Coding Bootcamp after working for more than 20 years as a teacher. “We use technology as much as men and it is crucial for women to be part of the design and implementation of this technology.”

That’s why Nancy and four other women who met at Rutgers Coding Bootcamp decided to create a social networking application called The Loop that they say will offer help and support women in the high-tech industry who want to break into what has traditionally been a male-dominated field.

By Padraig Ryan

At 61, after a decade away from computer programming, Tom Keel thought his computer coding days were well behind him.

That was until Tom decided to jump back in and follow his son, Seth, to Bootcamp. After reading about the exciting new coding opportunities of the bootcamp-style class his son would be taking, Tom felt a renewed sense of interest in the field and decided to join him. It’s not often that two generations get to experience the same educational opportunity, and it proved to be an exciting challenge for the father and son duo. 

Now both father and son are newly minted graduates of the Rutgers Coding Bootcamp after working side-by-side for 24 highly intensive weeks to develop skills as “full stack” software coders.

The Keels' story is unusual. They are the only father and son duo out of 375 bootcampers who have gone through the program since it began last fall. 

Vincent Buttiglieri once only had a yearning to work in local government in New Jersey.

Now, he’s a worldwide leader among municipal clerks, having taken in 2016 the top post as president of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC)—a professional association with 9,500 members in the U.S., Canada, and 15 other countries.

So how did the clerk in Ocean Township in Monmouth County, N.J., become the quintessential clerk in the world?

Buttiglieri first needed credentials. So he turned to Rutgers.

Rutgers Continuing Education Center at Atrium available for education, business and professional events

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Rutgers Division of Continuing Studies and Lifelong Learning has opened the Rutgers Continuing Education Center at Atrium, an executive training facility for continuing and professional education programs and events.

Located in Somerset, N.J., at 300 Atrium Drive, the newly opened educational facility features a 20,000 square-foot suite. It offers free parking and on-site food service and catering in a modern facility with high-quality design, glass exteriors and spacious lobbies.

The new facility, which held a grand opening in May 2016, already is hosting programs for Rutgers Continuing Studies. It is available for Rutgers events for faculty, students and administration by calling 732-412-7397 or visiting www.rutgersatrium.com.