December 2012 Volume 15 No. 3

TA3 Connections
March 2012 Volume 15 No. 1
The Trans-Atlantic Technology & Training Alliance is an international network of community,
technical, and further education colleges from the United States and Europe dedicated to
learning, innovation, and collaboration. For more information about the TA3 see http://
www.ta3online.org.
Upcoming TA3 2012 Meetings
Hosted by Gateway Community & Technical College, Kentucky,
October 1-3, 2012.
The Future of Manufacturing: Implications for Education and Training
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What types of manufacturing and what kinds of companies are most likely to continue to
manufacture in advanced, high-wage economies?
What entrepreneurial opportunities will develop and can these produce a large enough
employment base to be significant?
What types and levels of skills and knowledge will
community college graduates need in the future
and what will their career paths look like?
Why do too few students enter manufacturing
career paths to replace a rapidly aging
workforce, even with the promise of good
wages?
Experts and practitioners from the U.S. and Europe
will try to look ahead to see where manufacturing is
headed in advanced economies and how to best
develop and take advantage of new opportunities.
With employment levels uncertain due to global
competition and increasing automation, how can
community and technical colleges in the U.S.
and Europe best help manufacturing both
sustain and re-invent itself?
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Member News
Finland-US Food Project
In October 2011, a group of six students, teachers
in business and culinary arts, and an international
coordinator from Tampere College spent two weeks
at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn as
part of a “Slow Food” project funded by the
National Board of Education in Finland. The goal
was to share cross-cultural experiences, knowledge,
and skills related to food preparation, horticulture,
marketing, customer service, and branding to better
prepare students for future jobs. This project
introduced views on certain modern lifestyles that
can have harmful impacts on personal health,
environment, and economy. The slow food
philosophy is about improving balance with a calmer
pace of life, gratifying social relations, and a better
quality of life. “Slowness” means understanding
how to manage time in a sustainable way. Chefs
must be able to explain the origin of their products
and present what is served at their restaurants in
English. The business students gain experience in
different areas of export marketing, and horticulture
students learn about primary production and
breeding for international markets.
Educating for Sustainability in Denmark
Denmark has long been known for its efforts to achieve environmental sustainability, and wind
farms are visible across the country. Ten members
of the TA3 and Alliance for Sustainability and two
partners involved in sustainable housing traveled to
Denmark this past October to learn about programs
and policies that support sustainable building. The
trip began at EUC-Syd in Sønderborg in southern
Jutland, a charter TA3 and Alliance member—also
the site of the country’s most ambitious
sustainability plan, ProjectZero. Hosted by EUCSyd administrators, the group has a chance to see
the well-known Danish apprenticeship program in
action and observe some of the city’s energy
efficiency efforts including the zerohouse.
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From Sønderborg, they went on to VIU University College in Horsens to visit its Research Centre
for Sustainable Buildings, then to Copenhagen to visit companies, a Green Building Trade Show,
and Copenhagen Technical College. A report on what they saw and learned on the trip, written
by Amy Kox of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, is available online at http://rtsinc.org/
publications/documents/denmarkgreenbldgfinal.pdf. Members of the delegation and Lene
Bonnen Sandholt from EUC-Syd presented a webinar on February 21 that can be viewed at
http://rtsinc.adobeconnect.com/p7acgscw56x/.
Howard Community College Wins Two National/International Awards
Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland, has received the national 2012 Andrew
Heiskell Award for Internationalizing the Community College for its Global Distinction program.
Global Distinction is an academic enrichment program open to all students regardless of major
or GPA. Upon completion of course work, an immersion experience and campus events,
students present a portfolio of experiences and are recognized for their work to achieve a
greater global perspective. More information and program details can be found at: http://
www.howardcc.edu/academics/academic_enrichment/global_distinction/. The Global
Distinction program grew out of a joint faculty learning community between the Community
College of Baltimore County and Howard Community College. This program has also won the
2012 Diana Hacker Award for Outstanding Programs in English for Two-Year Colleges and
Teachers from the National Council of the Teachers of English. It was selected as the exemplary
program in the category of Reaching across Borders.
Howard’s Center for Entrepreneurial and Business Excellence program, “A Holistic
Approach to Entrepreneurial Education Across the Curriculum” also has been selected as one of
ten Bellwether Finalist Winners in the Instructional Programs and Services Category.
Representatives of the program will compete via presentation for the prestigious 2012
Bellwether Award at the upcoming Community College Futures Assembly. The Community
College Futures Assembly convenes each year as an independent national policy think tank to
identify and recognize the role of community colleges in providing innovative solutions to the
challenges of today.
Design as a Competitive Edge in Kentucky
The Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC) will host a Design as a Competitive
Edge Workshop on March 15, 2012 at the Gateway Community and Technical College
(GCTC) Boone Campus in Florence Kentucky. This concept, which grew out of a recent plan for
science and Technology completed by KSTC with RTS, is based on the idea that profitable
innovation and manufacturing often utilize design to create distinctive products that provide a
great customer experience and brand loyalty. This workshop is on the role of design-centered
innovation and manufacturing, which community colleges can both influence and support.
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New Member
The TA3 welcomes Cleveland State Community College (CSCC) and its President, Dr. Carl
Hite, as a new member. Cleveland State is a comprehensive two-year public community college
operating within the governance of the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) and approved by the
Tennessee Higher Education Commission. For over 40 years, CSCC has been committed to
providing a quality education and open access for the people of Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe
and Polk counties.
Its enrollment is approximately 3,500 credit and 1,500 non-credit students in a typical fall
semester. Ninety percent of its more than 70 faculty members have master’s or doctorate
degrees. The college’s 105-acre campus has ten major buildings housing classrooms,
laboratories, student activity centers, a 65,000 volume library, learning resources center, 400seat auditorium, 3,000-seat gymnasium that includes a fitness center available to students and
the public, athletic fields, tennis courts, a small business development center, and a full-service
student center with cafeteria, bookstore, and student lounge areas. CSCC has two off-campus
sites in Athens and Madisonville.
The college has a strong focus on sustainability, is designated as an arboretum, and has the
distinction of being the only college in Tennessee to achieve the Tree Campus USA designation.
Also a member of the Alliance for Sustainability, CSCC is on the cutting edge of efforts to
transform the way energy is used in its region. The school is re-vamping its curriculum in
construction technologies with a program in energy efficient residential construction to attract
students and companies who see the economic benefits of using energy efficiency as a brand in
the marketplace.
Cleveland State provides a variety of courses for individuals planning to transfer to a four-year
college or university, or to earn an associate degree or certificate to directly enter the
workforce. Scheduling options include day and evening classes, independent study, video
courses, and courses delivered via the Web. For more information on Cleveland State, visit the
website at www.clevelandstatecc.edu or call 1-800-604-CSCC.
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Network News
The Community College Alliance for
Sustainability held a meeting in Pittsboro, North
Carolina on September 29-30 on the theme of
educating young and beginning farmers in
sustainable food systems. Fifty participants
representing 16 states attended the events, which
were supported by the Farm Foundation, Farm
Credit Council, Appalachian Regional Commission as
well as the Ford Foundation. The local host was
Central Carolina Community College, which has one
of the nation’s first and most successful programs in
sustainable agriculture. Participants learned about
innovative educational practices, success stories in
food innovation centers, local marketing, working
with non-profits, sustainable practices, and national
programs and resources. The conference report is
available at http://rtsinc.org/publications/documents/
pittsbororeport0911.pdf.
North Carolina Agriculture Commisisoner
Steve Troxler
Miscellaneous information and events
Cynthia Liston, past co-director of the TA3 while at RTS (and past co-editor of TA3
Connections) has a new position as Associate Vice President of the North Carolina Community
College System for Policy Research & Special Projects. Cynthia is leading statewide initiatives
focused on student success and smoother transitions between K-12 and college.
Risto Raivio, from the European Commission’s Education and Culture department spent the
fall semester 2011 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as EU Fellow. He conducted
a study focusing on the role of community colleges in local skills strategies, an issue that is
currently high on the European political agenda. On the one hand, it reflects a growing
understanding of the importance of middle level skills for economic competitiveness. On the
other hand, it relates to the fact that youth unemployment rates are extremely high in some of
the European countries, which calls for actions to improve transitions from education and
training to work. Risto draws lessons from North Carolina’s Community College System to
nourish policy considerations in Europe. The report draws attention particularly to the active
partnerships among community colleges, businesses, public authorities and other community
stakeholders. His report concludes that Europe has ample room for—and need for—
improvement in developing the roles of vocational training institutions in economic
development. Other findings point to the need of better linking initial and continuing vocational
training and to the value of partnerships between colleges and local community organizations in
order to reach out to groups with less experience in formal education settings. The report will
be soon available at http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc60_en.htm. Risto
Ravio spoke at the TA3 symposium on Supporting Sustainable Communities in Asheville in 2010
(http://www.ta3online.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/raivio.pdf).
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Uffe Elbæk, who was a keynote speaker at our TA3 symposium in Whitefish, Montana in Fall,
2006 on creativity and innovation in technical education was recently appointed Minister of
Culture for Denmark. Then director of Kaos Pilots in Århus (http://www.kaospilot.dk/), one
of the world’s most creative schools and educational environments, he gave an inspiring talk
about applying creativity to education.
Sonderborg, Denmark’s ProjectZero, which works in partnership with TA3 member EUCSyd, has been accepted to join the global C40-Climate Positive Development Program in
partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative, thereby becoming part of a global network of
the world’s most ambitious climate projects. The network also includes programs in London;
Sydney; Melbourne; Seoul, Stockholm; and the U.S. college town of Oberlin in Ohio.
Sonderborg’s public private partnership will work to create climate-positive city-wide solutions to
simultaneously create growth and reduce CO2. Through energy efficiency and conversion to
green energy the Sonderborg’s goal is to reduce the region’s CO2 emissions to zero by 2029,
which in turn will create new green jobs both within manufacturing and the service sectors.
ProjectZero Director Peter Ratje was a speaker at the TA3 2010 symposium (see http://
www.ta3online.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/rathje.pdf.)
Marc Tucker at the National Center on International Education (who was a keynote
speaker at the 2008 TA3 symposium at Howard Community College) has formed a new Center
on International Education Benchmarking that will conduct research on the most
successful educational programs, policies, and practices. Its advisory board includes Roland
Østerlund, one of initial founders of the TA3 and former Director General of the Danish Ministry
of Education and head of vocational education for Denmark. Roland has a review of a recent
book by Nancy Hoffman titled “Schooling in the Workplace: How Six of the World’s Best
Vocational Education Systems Prepare Young People for Jobs and Life” at http://www.ncee.org/
2012/01/global-perspectives-a-global-guide-to-quality/.
The American Association of Community Colleges is in the process of updating its 2008
Community College Press book “Global Development of Community Colleges,Technical
Colleges, and Further Education Programs,” covering many of the TA3 member college
countries. The new edition will be available later this year.
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TA3 Secretariat
Lars Møller Bentsen, International Adviser for the Danish Agency for International Education
Keith Bird, Senior Policy Fellow, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Darlene Miller, Director, National Council for Workforce Education
Stuart Rosenfeld, Principal and Founder, Regional Technology Strategies
For more information please contact Stuart Rosenfeld at RTS ([email protected]) or Lars
Møller Bentsen at [email protected]
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