{"682805":{"#nid":"682805","#data":{"type":"news","title":"AT\u0026T and Georgia Tech Launch Boot Camp-to-Internship Pipeline","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThanks to a new venture with AT\u0026amp;T, the College of Computing is piloting a new summer experience for undergraduate students that blends academic instruction with industry engagement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is the first time the College has offered a boot camp-to-internship model to provide students with a seamless path from classroom learning to real-world application.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Campus to Career: A Structured Pipeline\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new program consists of a four-week boot camp followed by an eight-week internship at AT\u0026amp;T. Led by Nimisha Roy of the School of Computing Instruction, the boot camp prepares students to contribute meaningfully in the workplace by combining technical rigor with project-based learning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOutside of on-hand training and real-world experience for the students, it\u2019s a job placement,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003EStephanie Stare\u003C\/strong\u003E, director of technology at AT\u0026amp;T. \u201cThe idea is to extend offers to those who are a good fit at the end of the summer and have them join full-time next year.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy Georgia Tech? A Strategic Fit\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAT\u0026amp;T already operates a data science internship program at Southern Methodist University (SMU) but sought to expand into data engineering through their Alpharetta office. Georgia Tech\u2019s deep talent pool and reputation made it the right match.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe wanted that pipeline to come directly from an academic institution,\u201d Stare said. \u201cWith part of our team based in Atlanta, it made perfect sense to work with Georgia Tech, especially when you couple that with it being one of the best engineering programs in the country.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMatt Dugan\u003C\/strong\u003E, vice president of engineering at AT\u0026amp;T and a Georgia Tech alumnus, emphasized the practical training students will receive: \u201cThe boot camp will help students get familiar with the platforms we use and with generative AI. Then they\u2019ll work onsite to apply their skills to real projects and deliver useful outcomes for us.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBoot camp Focus: Technical Training and Capstone-Style Projects\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERoy, who teaches a range of software engineering courses at Georgia Tech, designed the boot camp around team-based projects modeled after the College\u2019s computer science (CS) capstone format. Students work in pairs to develop their own solutions while hitting milestone checkpoints. The boot camp portion of the program concluded on June 5, when students officially graduated from that phase and prepared to begin their internships.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we\u2019re focusing on from a CS perspective is for them to get acquainted with concepts and technologies that help develop enterprise-level software platforms,\u201d Roy said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe will also guide students through an example project related to network anomaly detection, mirroring challenges AT\u0026amp;T faces.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECollaboration Across the College\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERoy worked closely with Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education \u003Cstrong\u003EOlufisayo Omojokun\u003C\/strong\u003E and Director of Career Services and Senior Research Associate \u003Cstrong\u003EPaul Fowler\u003C\/strong\u003E to design a program that blends technical training with collaborative, enjoyable experiences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was clear to me that replicating our CS Capstone model would be the right fit for this,\u201d Omojokun said. \u201cDuring initial discussions with AT\u0026amp;T, Nimisha immediately came to mind as someone to lead the technical component of the program. She has excelled at teaching courses at different levels of software engineering and regularly publishes in the space.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn response to feedback from industry partners, the team added a professional development component led by Fowler.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOver the past year, it\u2019s become clear that soft skills are an area of opportunity for some of our students,\u201d Omojokun said. Each week, students will participate in sessions focused on leadership, integrity, and decision-making in the workplace.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe want them to be more than interns but leaders who confidently present,\u201d Fowler said. \u201cThey\u2019re building something valuable, and there\u2019s a professional component to presenting a product you\u2019ve created.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat Students Are Saying\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents said the nature of the program stood out to them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to this because I feel like it\u2019s structured,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003EAnika Garikipati\u003C\/strong\u003E, a third-year CS major.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen I saw the topics and technologies they were going to teach, I thought it was really interesting,\u201d third-year CS major \u003Cstrong\u003ESarvesh Gade\u003C\/strong\u003E said. \u201cI learn better in a classroom environment than online, just doing it myself.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s so good that it\u2019s on campus at Georgia Tech; it\u2019s so convenient,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003EYuv Rout\u003C\/strong\u003E, a third-year CS major.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Model for the Future\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAT\u0026amp;T plans to continue the program annually, recruiting for the summer cohort each fall. Omojokun hopes this is the first of many collaborations with AT\u0026amp;T, and the model inspires more companies to work with the College to develop similar programs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECompanies interested in collaborating on this program model can contact Omojokun at \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:omojokun@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eomojokun@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E or Emily Foster, Director of Corporate Engagement, at \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:emily.foster@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eemily.foster@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThanks to a new venture with AT\u0026amp;T, the College of Computing is piloting a new summer experience for undergraduate students that blends academic instruction with industry engagement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is the first time the College has offered a boot camp-to-internship model to provide students with a seamless path from classroom learning to real-world application.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Thanks to a new venture with AT\u0026T, the College of Computing is piloting a new summer experience for undergraduate students that blends academic instruction with industry engagement."}],"uid":"36613","created_gmt":"2025-06-17 17:31:19","changed_gmt":"2025-06-17 17:39:55","author":"Emily Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-06-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-06-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677243":{"id":"677243","type":"image","title":"att1.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents arrive for the first day of boot camp. Photo by Kevin Beasley\/ College of Computing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1750181542","gmt_created":"2025-06-17 17:32:22","changed":"1750181542","gmt_changed":"2025-06-17 17:32:22","alt":"Students begin the boot camp","file":{"fid":"261124","name":"att1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/17\/att1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/17\/att1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":94351,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/06\/17\/att1.jpg?itok=YoJLSQ7g"}},"677244":{"id":"677244","type":"image","title":"bootcamp1.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents graduate from the boot camp portion of the program and will move on to the internship with AT\u0026amp;T. Photo by Emily Foster\/ College of Computing.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1750181815","gmt_created":"2025-06-17 17:36:55","changed":"1750181815","gmt_changed":"2025-06-17 17:36:55","alt":"Students graduate from boot camp","file":{"fid":"261125","name":"bootcamp1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/17\/bootcamp1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/17\/bootcamp1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":91388,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/06\/17\/bootcamp1.jpg?itok=RT9wqoxg"}}},"media_ids":["677243","677244"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660374","name":"School of Computing Instruction"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"193866","name":"school of computing instruction"},{"id":"37751","name":"bootcamp"},{"id":"61391","name":"AT\u0026T"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["emily.smith@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}