Avaya user group starting in Southwestern Virginia

Avaya will be hosting a planning meeting on Wednesday, February 15th, in Roanoke, VA, with the goal of establishing a Southwestern Virginia chapter of the International Avaya Users Group (IAUG) . All Avaya customers AND Partners in SW Virginia are encouraged and welcome to attend. 

At 4,000 members strong, the International Avaya Users Group (IAUG) combines the previous Avaya and heritage Nortel user groups into one of the world’s largest international organizations for communications technology professionals. As the forum for the global Avaya customer community, IAUG provides a voice and resource for Avaya customers everywhere.

IAUG’s primary goals are to:

• Advocate on behalf of the needs and interests of Avaya customers;
• Provide a direct channel of feedback from customers to Avaya leadership;
• Serve as a conduit of product and company information from Avaya to its customers;
• Provide training, industry news, networking opportunities, and other value-adds to Avaya customers;
• Create valuable networks among Avaya customers; and
• Facilitate a positive, productive relationship between Avaya and its customers

Local users group provide us the ability to foster interaction between Avaya customers, form peer groups, offer seminars and training and much more.  It is an end-user driven organization and will be managed and run by newly elected officers.  We need YOUR help to make it a success.

Meeting information

Location:   Virginia Utility Protection Service, Inc

(1829 Blue Hills Circle NE, Roanoke, VA  24012)

When: Wednesday, Feb. 15th, 2012

Agenda will be as follows:

• 11:00- 11:15 – Introductions
• 11:15- 11:45 – Review of the IAUG (mission, goals, structure, benefits, fees)
• 11:45- 12:30 – Discussion Local Chapter structure and requirements (working lunch)
• 12:30 – 1pm – Attendee input, Q&A, Next steps

*** Please RSVP via email to Barbara Rigatti at brigatti [at] avaya [dot] com, and pass the invitation along to any other Avaya users that may be interested.

Also- Mark your calendar for the next IAUG Global Education Conference – May 20 – 24, 2012, Boston, MA

• More than 200 educational sessions
  • Contact Center
  • Infrastructure (Core Voice Systems for Enterprises of all sizes )
  • Unified Communication/Messaging/Collaboration
  • Global Services
  • Data Solutions
  • Professional Development
  • Credits for IAUG Professional Development certificate program
  • CEU credits with the University of Wisconsin
  • Pre-Conference Tutorials on SIP, Contact Center and Project Management
  • Avaya and motivational keynote speakers

For more information on IAUG, please visit www.iaug.org

Building a More Entrepreneurial Region 2000

Virginia’s Region 2000 Partnership in collaboration with Central Virginia Community College presented the findings and resulting action plan of an entrepreneurship study (that kicked off in Spring, 2011) on Wednesday, February 1 at Central Virginia Community College’s Merritt Hall.  The study was funded through financial support of Central Virginia Community College, the Region 2000 Workforce Investment Board, and the Region 2000 Local Government Council.

From the News & Advance:

“An entrepreneur is someone “willing to take a chance,” one person said.

Another said entrepreneurs were the “embodiment of the American dream.”

Those are phrases from a video entrepreneurs, played during a meeting of the Region 2000 partnership as it presented recommendations from a study conducted last year.

One of those recommendations starts today.

Region 2000 and six local colleges are partnering to create a higher education initiative to grow entrepreneurship and strengthen small business development in the area.

This partnership aims to build connections between the schools — Lynchburg College, Liberty University, Central Virginia Community College, Randolph College, Sweet Briar College and Virginia University of Lynchburg — to help students develop an interest in entrepreneurship, according to the final report. The project received a $15,000 state grant.” (Read the entire article at NewsAdvance.com)

From WSET:

Lynchburg Retail Merchants Foundation gives grant to Future Focus Foundation

 The Future Focus Foundation, the educational non-profit organization of Virginia’s Region 2000 Technology Council, has received an $800 grant from the Lynchburg Retail Merchants Foundation.  These grant funds will be used to support the 2012 Jr. FIRST LEGO League Program and Expo.

Jr. FIRST LEGO League is a program that introduces young children (6-8 years) to the exciting world of science and technology and encourages long-term interest in STEM careers.  The children are given a real-world challenge to solve using creativity, innovation, teamwork, and design skills.  Teams for 2012 have begun forming and Virginia’s Region 2000 Jr. FIRST LEGO League Expo is scheduled for April 28, 2012 at Timberlake Christian School.

“We are very grateful to have the support of the Lynchburg Retail Merchant’s Foundation for our Jr. FIRST LEGO League Program and Expo,” said Elizabeth Narehood, Managing Director of the Future Focus Foundation. “This year, I have received contact from several new schools and groups that would like to begin hosting teams.  These funds will allow teams to purchase necessary supplies to participate in the program and also provide valuable tools teachers may choose to integrate into their classrooms during the school year.  Many schools would not be able to participate without the financial and volunteer support from our local community.”

Bob Bailey to speak on the CAER's cognitive radio testbed program

LU to Host Industrial Control Panel Design Seminar (Jan 28)

Liberty University’s School of Engineering will be hosting a Siemens Training Seminar titled “The Secrets of Industrial Control Panel Design”.

The course is a summary of a standard 1 day course on designing industrial control panels for the North American market and another 1 day course on designing Industrial control panels with CE certification for IEC countries.

A significant amount of the course will be devoted to the explanation of the key requirements to meet UL508A for Industrial Control Panels. Topics include Short Circuit Current Ratings, UL-compliant markings and common stumbling blocks.
This course also covers the basic requirements to design and self certify an industrial control panel with a CE marking for export to IEC countries and markets.

When: January 28, 2012 from 9AM to 2PM

Where: The event will be held in the Towns Alumni Lecture Hall at Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.

Lunch will be provided by Siemens.

Register at:
http://www.mysiemensevents.com/Lists/ApplicationPages/channelpartnerprivatesiteeventdetailspage.aspx?cpeid=2081

Wired Wednesday: Social Media - Boom or Bust, Feb 15 in Lynchburg, Virginia

GET THE RAW TRUTH ON SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING!

Has the wave of Social Media crested or crashed? We’re going to ask some hard questions to a panel of local experts. Bring your questions and get in line. Let’s find out together what’s really working and what’s not and how you should really position your marketing strategy.

Invited, local panelists include: Josh Quintero of Blair Marketing, Jennifer Bailey of The Social Media Institute, Abe Loper of the Young Professionals of Central Virginia, Phil Hamlett of B&W, and Jason Fowler of the Region 2000 Technology Council.

When and Where: February 15, 12 noon to 1:30pm | Craddock Terry Hotel and Event Center in downtown Lynchburg Virginia
Details: Cost – $10 for Members, $15 for Non-Members | Lunch will be provided.

_________________________________________________

This Event Is Sold Out!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ON THE WAITING LIST PLEASE CLICK HERE TO EMAIL: jfowler [at] techcouncil [dot] us

_________________________________________________

Download the event flyer: here or view below:

Sweet Briar College to host girl's 'Explore Engineering' events

Sweet Briar College is hosting Spring weekend and Summer week-long engineering courses for high school (senior and junior) young women titled ‘Explore Engineering‘ March 2-3, 2012 and July 22-27, 2012. These courses are built around hands-on, team based design projects that emphasize creativity. No engineering experience is needed to attend. Students have fun while working with engineering faculty and students. See Sweet Briar’s ‘Explore Engineering’ web page and the brochures below for more information:

Randolph College Science Festival: March 22-25, 2012 in Lynchburg, VA

Randolph College’s Science Festival and Science Day are coming in March. This is a great event for families, teachers and students in the Lynchburg area to have some fun while exploring issues and topics related to science. Check it out:

“The Randolph College Society of Physics Students is proud to bring you the Fourth Annual Randolph College Science Festival, March 22-25, 2012. Begun as a Science Day for kids in 2005, we are joined by science, humanities and arts departments across the campus, and by numerous presenters to bring a weekend of activities for all. All activities are free and open to the public, and are for all ages. Only the Science Day activity on Saturday afternoon requires pre-registration, please feel free to drop in on any of the other events. All Science Day participants receive a t-shirt, and the first 100 people who attend other Science Festival events will receive a t-shirt.

• Admission to all events is FREE and open to the public!
• No registration required (EXCEPT for Science Day, on Saturday afternoon)
• All events are open to ALL ages EXCEPT Science Day which is for 3-6 graders
• Have lunch or dinner in our dining hall either day, or snack at our coffee shop Click for more information

Randolph College Science Festival is paid for by sponsorships from local companies and donations from individuals – if you would like to help keep this event going, please consider making a donation by clicking on this link , and be sure to choose to direct your donation to the Science Festival by choosing that designation in the drop-down box on the second page. Donations of any amount are welcome, thank you! If you are interested in a sponsorship, please contact Peter Sheldon psheldon [at] randolphcollege [dot] edu.”

One of the main features of Randolph College’s Science Fest is Science Day. For information and registration on this day of “free, fun, hands-on science activities for grades 3 – 6″ go: to the Science Day page and see the video below. For everyone else find the Science Festival on Facebook and their main website and see the Science Fest flyer (with map) below.

2012 Jr. FIRST LEGO League Season
The Future Focus Foundation and the Region 2000 Technology Council are excited to announce the third annual season of the Lynchburg Regional Junior FIRST LEGO League beginning in early 2012. This year, we have a limited number of team sponsorships available so make sure to get your request in early. New teams in new locations will be getting priority for sponsored supplies.

Save The Date (Jr. FIRST LEGO Exp0 April 28)
The 2012 Region 2000 Jr. FIRST LEGO League Expo is scheduled for April 28^th at Timberlake Christian School.  The theme for the 2012 Expo will be “Snack Attack”.  Participants in the 2012 Jr. FIRST LEGO League will take a “hands-on” approach to the topic of food safety by exploring how proper preparation and storage and help us keep healthy. Teams will learn about simple machines as they build a model made of LEGO elements with a motorized moving part, and will create a team Show-Me Poster to represent their Snack Attack findings.

What Your Need To Know
Junior FIRST LEGO League (Jr.FLL) captures young children’s inherent curiosity and directs it toward discovering the wonders of science and technology. Jr.FLL features a real-world Challenge, solved by research, critical thinking and imagination. Guided by adult coaches, student teams work with LEGO elements and moving parts to build ideas and concepts and present them for review.

Here are some of the details for Junior FIRST:

• The teams are composed of 2-6 children ages 6-9
• Teams typically meet 6-8 times
• The season culminates with the Lynchburg Regional Junior FIRST LEGO Expo (non-competitive sharing and fun!). The season will begin in February with the event being held April 28, 2012. Note: unsponsored teams are welcome to participate in the Expo. We will be glad to send ordering information for the supplies.
• Jr. FIRST teams will do basic research and build a solution to a challenge based on the theme “Snack Attack,” related to food safety.

The Challenge
Every year, Junior FIRST® LEGO® League works with experts in the field to create a Challenge that relates to an important real world issue. The end result of the design process is a Challenge with two defined parts – the Show-Me Poster and the Model.

The Show-Me Poster requires teams to illustrate their research and team journey. It provides an opportunity for them to share what they studied, what they learned, and to show information about the team and each team member.

The Model gets teams moving! Teams build a representation of what they are researching, based off the Challenge, and incorporate simple machines and movement into their creation.

Get more details: here.

Contact Elizabeth Narehood, Managing Director of the Future Focus Foundation for more information about team sponsorships, enarehood [at] techcouncil [dot] us or (434) 847-1447.

For more information about Junior FIRST, visit their main website.
See below for our Jr FIRST LEGO expo promotional flyer:

Google case study praises Liberty University Online's mobile advertising.

Google recently praised Liberty University for their success in mobile marketing:

“Liberty University, the world’s largest Christian college, is being noted by Google for its success in marketing the university’s programs to prospective students via their mobile devices.

More and more prospective students are utilizing their mobile devices to explore their options to further, or pursue for the first time, their education online.

As noted by Google in their Mobile Ads Blog, Liberty’s method of online marketing is effectively leveraging this trend, which is, according to Google’s own search data, an increasing one.

Students interested in earning a degree online are using their mobile devices to explore their options. Liberty University, which is the nation’s largest not-for-profit provider of online education, has successfully focused on Google AdWords and strategically placed display ads for some time but has only recently branched out into targeted mobile advertising.

What began as a market test has proven so successful that the university has launched a new mobile-only advertising campaign, and plans on launching a mobile landing page. Branching out from desktop-only marketing has allowed the university to access a totally new demographic all together.

“We were surprised by how quickly our mobile efforts exceeded our return on investment and became very profitable,” Liberty University’s Executive Director of Admissions Steve Peterson said. “Now, a prospective student doesn’t have to be sitting at their desk at home to discover us, or explore our 115 online programs. They can find us wherever they are because their own cell phone can become their door to a future education at Liberty.”

The first six months of Liberty University’s mobile-only campaign produced a 49 percent increase in conversions and a 50 percent decrease in cost per conversion.

“Liberty has achieved it’s position among the nation’s top 10 online universities because of our affordability, Christianity identity, and our ability to innovate,” said Peterson. “We’ll keep scaling with the technology, and, who knows, eventually students may be able to get their university degree on the same cell phone they used to discover Liberty.”

Liberty University, located in Lynchburg, Va., is the world’s largest Christian university. More than 12,000 students attend classes on its 6500-acre residential campus and more than 65,000 study through its thriving online education program.”

(source: Liberty University and Yahoo News)