Why We’re Excited About the Syracuse Surge Initiative
Syracuse continues to be a fast-growing tech space in the northeast, and we’re excited to see that Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced his support for the “Syracuse Surge” initiative put forth by Mayor Ben Walsh. As members of the local tech community with a mission of bringing like-minded people together through our hackathons and other special events, this new effort to bring more opportunities to the area is close to our hearts.
Syracuse Surge is a series of upcoming projects that will focus on the South Side, which historically has been neglected when it comes to new development. The goal is to stimulate economic growth in a place that was left behind by the last industrial revolution led by technology, according to Walsh.
“As we’re going into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that is going to be based on connectivity and the Internet of Things, we’re making a technology infrastructure investment that puts us ahead of every other city in the country in advancing those technologies. It puts us in a once-in-a-generation position to surge ahead to not only compete in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but to thrive in it,” Mayor Walsh told Syracuse.com.
Included in the projects are the transformation of the vacant Central Tech into a STEAM-focused high school and expansion of adult vocational training programs at the SUNY Educational Opportunity Center. The Tech Garden, which is home to several local tech startups and where classes for our Careers in Code coding bootcamp will be held, will see expansion in the future as well.
To go along with the educational opportunities being offered in the Syracuse Surge, the city also plans to make improvements to the neighborhood through new housing initiatives, as well as efforts to make Syracuse into “New York’s pre-eminent smart city,” by swapping current city streetlights with smart versions with LED technology, among other changes.
Although Careers in Code and Hack Upstate are not a formal part of Syracuse Surge, which looks very promising for the growth of our neighborhood when it begins, the initiative complements our mission well. We have very similar objectives as far as advancing the local economy, particularly in impoverished communities. Our coding bootcamp is offered to women and minorities living in these areas, with a full scholarship that includes tuition and all course materials.
The 24-week bootcamp provides the necessary education for the students to have better access to the tech opportunities that are coming up in Syracuse, as well as those that are already here. We train the developers, and you hire them. Our goal is to address the shortage of adequately trained CNY software developers and the demand for them from our local technology sector. The software developers we train are critical to our region’s economic growth. They help our local businesses grow.
Hiring capable software engineers that are local can be difficult, but we’ve got you covered. We’re a tech talent pipeline for local organizations just like you. If you are interested in partnering with us to help our fully-trained students find promising employment following their graduation from our program, visit our website to learn more.
