We thank everyone who participated in our recent membership survey, where we asked for feedback about our programs and activities. This included which programs our members took advantage of and which were most valued. The top 5 were:
- Events
- Opportunities to Network
- Communications Channels
- Public Policy
- Projects and Reports
Those who responded reported good value from their vtTA membership and would recommend membership to others.
Some of the suggested areas for future focus included:
- Programs focused on women in tech
- Involving college students in Vermont tech opportunities and businesses
- More membership involvement in public policy
- Continued online event and networking opportunities
- More education-related programing
- Providing Job matching
We’re already taking steps to incorporate these suggestions.
While our events are popular, the coronavirus has prevented the usual in-person gatherings. So it is no surprise that both our annual sunset dinner cruise on Lake Champlain in August and the Tech Jam in October have been cancelled for 2020. Instead, we have been hosting online presentations and are exploring a tech-and career-focused session this fall.
We also have some exciting online tech education offerings coming up. We’ve partnered with Conceptia to offer the following SAFe Scrum training courses at a rate of nearly 35% the regular course fee by using the vtTA discount code:
We’re planning on continuing to offer tech training opportunities into the fall
If you like the work we’re doing and want to support tech in Vermont, please become a vtTA member. Find membership levels on our member registration page.
Jeff Couture
Executive Director
Vermont Technology Alliance
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SAFe 5.0 Certified Scrum Master Course
(September 19 - 21, 2020)
This SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework for enterprise) Certified Scrum Master Certification training course includes 13 hours of instructor-led training presented by certified SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) Steve Pinckney.
Take advantage of special Vermont Technology Alliance discount code to save on this course.
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Burlington Code Academy Student Demo Days
(August 20 and August 27, 2020)
Burlington Code Academy hosts Demo Days for its 2020 cohort of software development students and UX design students, who are wrapping up their 12-week sessions and looking to start their careers. Both events are open to the public, but the BCA strongly encourages employers to attend, as Demo Day is a good recruiting opportunity for companies interested in meeting these graduates.
Read more about the software development session here, and the UX design session here.
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Let’s Tech Together: Six Steps to Improve Your Hiring Efforts, Whether Live or Virtual
(August 27, 2020)
Hiring well is a critical skill that demands a focused strategy, thorough preparation, and thoughtful execution (especially with regard to candidate experience and engagement). In this half-hour presentation, followed by Q an A, Beth Gilpin will highlight six steps for successful hiring efforts that will give employers new insights about how to make better hires.
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Leading SAFe (5.0)
(September 9 - 11, 2020)
In this course, attendees gain the knowledge necessary to lead a Lean-Agile enterprise by leveraging the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®) and its underlying principles derived from Lean, systems thinking, Agile development, product development flow, and DevOps. Take advantage of vtTA discount code to save on this course.
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Featured Member – Faraday |
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Faraday is focused on democratizing data science and machine learning for brands seeking an edge in today's increasingly competitive consumer markets. Faraday's platform automates the hardest parts of data science, letting companies focus on actually using consumer insights and predictions to help their teams work smarter.
From direct-to-consumer brands to financial institutions to home services, Faraday has enabled hundreds of B2C companies to enhance and optimize their growth strategies. They provide all the ingredients in a user-friendly platform supported by expert data scientists and software engineers to help brands take immediate action on their data and AI-driven predictions.
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Months of Covid-19 Could Undo Decades of VT Population Decline
(August 9, 2020 – VTDigger)
A collision of social forces, some related to Covid-19, has prompted a wave of migration into Vermont this year.
While nobody knows for sure how many people have moved to the state over the past several months, University of Vermont research on new remote workers shows that this group is overwhelmingly young and gainfully employed. And they’re choosing to live in some of the state’s long-neglected rural areas.
According to preliminary survey findings from 222 responses, 64% are still in the workforce, 40% of the new arrivals are under 35, 24% are ages 36 to 50, and 35% are 51 and older.
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With Dramatic Gain, UVM Sets New Record for Research Funding
(August 7, 2020 – UVM)
The University of Vermont received $181.7 million in research funding during the 2020 fiscal year, surpassing last year’s amount by $37.4 million, or 26%.
The total is the largest in UVM history by a wide margin, eclipsing the previous high of $146 million set in 2010, when extra stimulus funding was available to colleges and universities for their research efforts.
Much of the new funding will enable UVM researchers to look for solutions that improve the health of society and the health of the environment, the two research priorities.
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Kaman Composites Vermont Announces Multi-Year $118 Million Contract
(August 16, 2020 – Kaman)
Kaman Composites – Vermont, Inc. a subsidiary of Kaman Corporation announced that it has entered into a new Long Term Agreement with a major engine OEM to manufacture components for both existing production and newly developed engine programs. The components will be industrialized and manufactured at Kaman’s facilities in Bennington, Vermont, with initial deliveries expected by the end of 2020.
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GW Plastics Acquired by Swedish Company Nolato
(August 6, 2020 – VTDigger)
A Swedish company has agreed to buy the Bethel-based GW Plastics in a deal that is expected to be final in September.
The publicly traded Nolato develops and produces polymer products such as plastic and silicone for health care, automotive, and consumer electronics companies. The 65-year-old GW Plastics makes precision molds and carries out manufacturing services for the medical device, diagnostics, and pharmaceutical markets. The purchase price is about $240 million, according to Seeking Alpha.
GW Plastics has seven manufacturing facilities and 1,100 employees, about 360 of them in Vermont. Nolato said it has about 7,000 employees in Europe, Asia, and North America. In a prepared statement, GW Plastics said it would continue to operate independently under the Nolato-GW brand.
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Benchmark to Provide Propulsion for Spaceflight Inc.
(August 6, 2020 – Space News)
Satellite propulsion startup Benchmark Space Systems announced an agreement Aug. 5 to provide non-toxic chemical propulsion for rideshare provider Spaceflight Inc.’s next-generation orbital transfer vehicle, Sherpa-NG.
At the same time, Burlington, Vermont-based Benchmark revealed a permanent licensing partnership with Tesseract Space, a California propulsion startup. Under the terms of the deal, Vermont-based Benchmark will integrate Tesseract’s intellectual property, assets and staff to further its goal of providing non-toxic chemical propulsion for the global small satellite market.
After sealing the deal with Tesseract, Benchmark raised more than $3 million in a capital campaign completed in May. With the latest round of funding, Benchmark will expand its staff of 21 employees, said Benchmark CEO Ryan McDevitt.
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Kezzler & Trace Announce Hemp and Cannabis Supply Chain Partnership
(August 5, 2020 – Vermont Business Magazine)
Burlington-based Trace, the nation's most advanced hemp and cannabis seed-to-sale tracking solution, and Kezzler, a global leader in supply chain traceability and serialization technology based in Oslo, announced a collaboration to redefine supply-chain visibility in the hemp and cannabis industries.
Trace leverages the power of Ethereum-based blockchain technology to distribute crucial information while removing the potential for altering accurate information, enhancing public and regulatory trust. Kezzler applies encryption to guarantee uniqueness of product identity and centralized processing allowing for massively scalable performance.
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Burlington Named #2 on List of Most Diversified Economies in the U.S.
(July 29, 2020 – Liveability )
The website Liveability named Burlington, Vermont # 2 on its list of the most diversified economies in the U.S., with Madison, Wisconsin taking the top spot.
According to Liveability, an important vital sign to check is the diversity of industries within a metro economy. Relying too heavily on a single industry — say, tourism and hospitality in a time of travel restrictions — is detrimental. But a healthy mix of market sectors can help communities better weather economic storms.
The list was compiled by labor market analytics firm Emsi.
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OnLogic Releases Helix Series of Industrial Computers for Edge Computing
(July 21, 2020 – OnLogic)
OnLogic, a global industrial and IoT computer hardware manufacturer based in South Burlington, VT, has announced its Helix Series of industrial computers is available for users in edge computing, industrial IoT, smart city, smart factory, AI and automation applications.
Powered by Intel's latest 10th generation processors, the Helix Series includes both a small form factor fanless system (HX500), as well as a unique "hybrid fanless" system (HX600) that can be configured with discrete GPUs, additional storage, and I/O or expansion cards. The combination of small size, connectivity, fanless cooling and processing power offered by the Helix Series is intended to help solution providers and device manufacturers solve their most complex computing challenges.
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Vermont Technology Alliance Membership Update
The Vermont Technology Alliance works on behalf of its members and is able to carry out its mission through the support of its membership.
New members include business Resonant Link and individual Kevin Kenna.
Not a vtTA member yet? Then why not join now? Find more information here, or sign up at our new member registration page here. You can also contact us at admin@vtta.org.
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Useful Information & Links |
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Economic Recovery Grants Program Expansion
Eligibility for the Economic Recovery Grants administered by Agency of Commerce and Community Development and the Department of Taxes for Vermont businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic has been expanded to include businesses with at least one W-2 employee – including those who are an owner. This change refers to S corps, C corps, and LLCs. Businesses who have experienced a 50% or greater drop in total revenue in any one-month period from March 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, when compared with the same month in 2019, are encouraged to apply.
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Generator Seeks Maker Mentors
Generator is looking for creative and caring Maker Mentors who want to support the next generation of inventors, designers, and engineers. Maker Mentors partner one-on-one with high school youth to share their craft, profession, and life skills.
Generator’s mentors devote four hours each month to their mentee. Generally, mentors and mentees collaborate on a project and use the tools and workshops at Generator to make their vision a reality.
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Jump Starting Strategic Planning for Manufacturers
The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center is presenting several two-hour webinars Sept. 22, 23 and 24 for manufacturing leaders to help them learn how to rapidly develop and communicate actionable strategic missions to their organizations.
Find our more and register here.
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vtTA Career Center
Vermont Technology Alliance member companies are hiring, and when you visit the Career Center on the Vermont Technology Alliance website you can browse and search for these job openings and subscribe to updates. The Career Center has tech and non-tech jobs with Vermont Technology Alliance member businesses and organizations. Jobs available from vtTA members are listed at no charge in the Career Center as a member benefit.
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The vtTA Thanks Its Member/Sponsors |
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