InfoComm Licensing Spotlight: Cornell
Sep 9, 2010 12:00 PM
When institutions, AV integration firms, and manufacturers need to educate a large quantity of people without having to develop their own education curricula from the ground up, they license education from InfoComm International. For one reasonable fee, the licensee receives lesson plans, instructor notes, and more from InfoComm, allowing for an unlimited number of students to be trained during the term of the contract.
Cornell University knows a lot about the importance of education. When Cornell decided to offer training to staff who manage AV in various departments and colleges, project leader Greg Bronson, CTS-D, chose to license InfoComm’s Essentials of the AV Industry class.
For Bronson, there were several benefits. “Committing to developing your own AV education program is a huge endeavor,” Bronson says. “It is much easier to license a proven curriculum, and the InfoComm name adds credibility to our AV training program.”
The course has allowed employees with a wide range of AV experience to develop a common terminology when discussing AV technology. There are also several advantages to providing this training onsite. Having more than 30 people travel to the InfoComm Academy would be cost-prohibitive for most universities. “By licensing, nobody is left behind due to airfare or hotel costs,” Bronson says. “Anybody who needs and wants training can get it.”
Customization of the curriculum is another key benefit of licensing. “We Cornellize the class by citing examples of actual classrooms and auditoria in the lessons,” Bronson says. “We even take field trips to certain sites on campus to apply the lessons in the class to practical situations employees might encounter.”
Exposing a large group of employees with differing technical experience to AV training has enhanced the effectiveness of the Cornell team, and some technicians were even inspired to pursue their Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) credential.
Companies interested in licensing InfoComm curricula should contact InfoComm’s Patrick Giambalvo at (800) 659-7469.
