Welcome Back
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month this September, let’s not lose sight of how underrepresented Hispanics are in the tech industry. At 48%, Latinx students are the largest California Community College demographic, yet they only make up 12% of the state’s tech workforce. The Bay Area Region’s ICT/DM career education programs, collaborating with BayICT Partnership members like you, can begin to close that gap when we all keep our equity goals front of mind. We appreciate your support!
It was a busy summer for the BACCC’s BayICT team, supporting outreach and awareness of the RVPA and AIDA regional joint ventures. See the updates below. The increasing attention and emphasis on preparing for these emerging technologies now raises the question “how must the region’s strategy for the sector adapt.” Those conversations have begun and we hope to bring ideas to you at the Fall 2024 convening on the BayICT Partnership in early November. Look for a save-the-date invite soon.
Project Updates
The BACCC continues to support the ICT/DM sector by facilitating leading-edge regional joint ventures and statewide initiatives. Following is a status of the sector programs and projects in which the BACCC has been instrumental:
The AI RJV (formerly the AIDA RJV) has shifted its focus exclusively to AI curriculum across BACCC (Bay Area Community College Consortium) colleges, while maintaining ties with the California Community College AI Consortium (CCCAIC) to track statewide progress.
The AI RJV will support the rollout of AI curricula, provide professional development opportunities, and explore methods to stay connected to broader AI developments across the state. This includes the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NVIDIA and the State of California, which aims to train students, educators, and workers, promote job creation and innovation, and leverage AI to improve the lives of Californians.
NVIDIA: Discover the Transformative Power of Accelerated Computing and AI
Join the livestream to discover how NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platform is delivering breakthrough performance in the next wave of AI, sensor processing, digital twins, cybersecurity, autonomous systems, and more.
Designing and Assessing Student Projects that Integrate Generative AI
In this session, faculty from four different disciplines will lead us in an interactive conversation about what their students are doing in the classroom with generative AI. They’ll share class activities that have engaged students and helped build skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
NEW AMERICA: AI Education at Community Colleges: The State of Play and Policy Needs
Hear answers from community colleges, employers, sector leadership groups, and students themselves during an interactive webinar organized by New America’s Future of Work & Innovation Economy Initiative.
NVIDIA: Golden Opportunities: California to Train Students, Educators in AI
The public-private collaboration supports the state’s goals in workforce training and economic development by giving universities, community colleges and adult education programs in California the resources to gain skills in generative AI.
Bay Area Cyber League coordinates summer cyber camps and fall and spring cybersecurity competitions for high school and community college students in the greater Bay Area region. Bay Cyber, as it’s often called, is also an RJV with additional funding support from the National Science Foundation.
The BayICT Partnership addresses the need for a regional advisory for the ICT/DM sector. Facilitated by the BACCC, the partnership invites industry, faculty, employers, workforce development, and community-based organizations to convene semi-annually to collaborate on the common goal of creating a diverse and locally-grown tech workforce. BayICT Partners provides the BACCC with valuable input on “what’s next” in planning support for the sector.
Netlab 2.0 is a regional private cloud (RPC) established to provide remote access to a shared ICT lab facility. Hosted at Cabrillo College, Netlab 2.0 allows faculty and students to access labs remotely (24×7), so they do not have to physically be where lab equipment is located. The RPC has provided over 6000 ICT and digital media students 24/7 access to real tools and equipment needed to complete lab work required by their course work. Netlab 2.0 is a RJV.
In its third and final year, the Regional Virtual Production Academy RJV is in the final stages of implementation. The 6-college collaborative program met its target to launch this Fall of 2024. See the update above for more details.
*Regional Joint Ventures serve two purposes. They can support the start-up costs for innovations that can later be supported on an ongoing basis by the participating colleges from their local Strong Workforce funds or other sources. RJVs also allow Bay Area community colleges to jointly invest in ongoing solutions needed for career education program delivery.
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
The RVPA internship program, supported by a partnership with the California Film Commission and the Foundation for California Community Colleges, has continued to exceed expectations since its inception last fall. Supervised by RVPA Technology Specialist, Kevin Leeper, 2 Diablo Valley College students who have embarked on program pathways are gaining exposure to and developing the skills necessary to configure and support the technology requirements of virtual production environments. (See the recognition below for their support at FanimeCon.) Two employers are collaborating with the RVPA to engage the interns in projects at their sites: Goal Line Studios and MOVRS. Goal Line Studios, the largest virtual production volume in Northern California, focuses on corporate and entertainment media productions. MOVRS, a Berkeley-based company with an international presence, is working on capturing athlete motions for detailed data analytics to enhance performance and media for live televised productions.
The program is now growing to include nine students, including students from Berkeley City College and Laney College. This is an exciting opportunity because it expands the program and demonstrates an intention of the curriculum design to have RVPA capstone students at multiple colleges collaborate on projects. The RVPA’s industry advisory constantly emphasizes the importance of teamwork and collaboration in the virtual production work environment.
FANIME CON 2024
The Regional Virtual Production Academy participated in the 2024 Fanime Convention in San Jose May 23-26. Attendees engaged with our booth, exploring interactive demonstrations and learning about green screen technology and virtual production techniques. Our participation at FanimeCon provided an excellent opportunity to showcase state-of-the-art video production tools and share our programs with a wider audience.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated student volunteers (Justin Mead and Azimuth “Azi” Wright) from Diablo Valley College (DVC) who helped set up our booth. Their hard work and commitment ensured everything was ready for the weekend’s events. We also thank the Ohlone College student volunteers (Kip Fletcher, Leighanne “Lee” Beth Nu) who energetically promoted our academy on Saturday and Sunday, making our booth a vibrant center of activity and learning.
A special thank you goes to Monica Cappiello, Ohlone College RVPA Lead Faculty, for her exceptional leadership and support throughout the event. Her guidance was instrumental in organizing our participation and ensuring its success. Additionally, we are grateful to DVC faculty member Joann Denning for her invaluable support on Sunday. Her expertise and enthusiasm significantly enhanced our engagement with visitors.
The Regional Virtual Production Academy remains dedicated to educating and inspiring future filmmakers and content creators. Our participation in the Fanime Convention underscores our commitment to fostering a community of innovation and creativity. We look forward to continuing our outreach efforts and expanding our impact at future events.
AFROCOMIC CON 2024
On June 27th, Berkeley City College (BCC) of the RVPA and the AfroComicCon/Oakland Technology & Education Center (AFCC/OTEC) joined forces to host a unique and vibrant Juneteenth celebration. This event paid tribute to the national holiday recognizing the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States while engaging the community through a blend of art, culture, technology, and entertainment.
The event featured music performances, a diverse array of vendors, including non-profits and Black-owned businesses displaying art, comic books, and other unique products. The BCC Multimedia Arts department offered a virtual production backdrop that provided a setting for cosplay photo shoots, allowing participants to showcase their favorite characters in a virtual environment.
This partnership between AfroComicon/OTEC and BCC is the beginning of a collaboration that aims to integrate the storytelling of comic books, gaming, and animation with the advances in virtual production within a cultural context. Collaborations such as this support the RVPA’s equity goal to increase awareness and access to VP educational and career opportunities for all members of our diverse community.
Discover the Latest Additions: Explore Our 2024 Student Portfolio
We are thrilled to announce the latest additions to our student portfolio section, featuring incredible projects from our talented community college students. Using Unreal Engine and other cutting-edge digital tools, these students have created works that showcase their advanced skills and creativity.
These Highlights Include…
- Berkeley City College: What is Virtual Production?
- Berkeley City College: Merchant Isle Team project
- Berkeley City College: BBBB trailer
- Estefan Rebelledo’s “Transubstantiation”
- Tyler Davis’s “Deserted”
- Chao Yu’s “The Speech”
- Cristofer Stamp’s “Jail Break”
- Digital Sculpting Reel from Ohlone College
- Malinda M’s “Essentia Ad”
CURRICULUM UPDATE
The RVPA is making significant strides towards its goal of being listed on the California Virtual Campus (CVC) website. This milestone is crucial as it will enable students to easily access and register for RVPA’s fully online offerings. Partnership with CVC is vital for students seeking flexible and innovative educational options. The inclusion of RVPA on this site will not only increase its visibility but also attract a diverse range of students eager to delve into the dynamic field of virtual production.
The RVPA team is also proud to announce the development of a Virtual Production Professionals Certificate. This program will be specifically designed for current professionals in the industry who are looking to upskill or enhance their expertise in virtual production. The certificate program will be meticulously crafted with input and validation from the RVPA Industry Advisory, ensuring that it meets the highest standards and addresses the real-world needs of the industry. This initiative underscores RVPA’s commitment to supporting continuous professional development and fostering excellence in the rapidly evolving field of virtual production.
Richard and the WASTC Team recently spent two weeks on a cruise, learning, sharing, and having fun. They hosted eleven week-long workshops, welcomed 14 sponsors, and engaged 319 participants. Their next event is the 2025 WASTC ICT Educators’ Conference, which will be held back on the mainland in San Jose, CA, on January 9-10, 2025.
Upcoming Events
| October 24th, 6-7pm | Cybersecurity Tech Talk |
| November 14th, 4-5pm | BayICT Fall Meeting |
| November 21st, 6-7pm | Esports Tech Talk |
| December 12th, 6-7pm | Data Analytics Tech Talk |
