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Grant to UTB Offers Students an Opportunity for Oracle Certification Training

Thursday, January 26th, 2012


 

Texas Border Business ---

 

BROWNSVILLE – Students in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at The University of Texas at Brownsville will have the opportunity beginning in the spring semester to test for Oracle administrator or Oracle enterprise programmer certification.

 

The department recently received a $250,000 grant from Oracle to implement the Oracle Advanced Computer Science Academy.

“I think it’s a great program for the students because that will open up new job opportunities,” said Dr. Juan R. Iglesias, Associate Professor and Chair of the university’s Department of Computer and Information Sciences. “They will not only have a degree, but one or more certifications from Oracle.”

 

The Oracle training will take place in the undergraduate Database Management Systems course’s weekly labs. The first session took place Monday, Jan. 23.

 

“I’m actually looking forward to that,” said James Killmer, 31, a junior computer information systems major from Brownsville and Porter High School graduate. “I wanted to get the certifications anyway. I’m happy UTB is giving us the chance to graduate but for us to get the certifications.”

 

Students preparing for the certification tests have the opportunity to use company-licensed software for free. Through the grant, the department will receive Enterprise 2.0, WebLogic Suite Options, Enterprise Management and other software. Students can also receive a discount on their certification tests. Iglesias said his goal is to see students receive certifications before they finish each semester.

 

Many of the students in the Database Management Systems course did not know about the certification opportunity until Iglesias told them in their first class of the semester on Friday, Jan. 20.

 

“I feel it’s a great opportunity,” said David De La Fuente, 32, a senior computer science major from Brownsville and graduate of Rivera High School. “I have taken these certification classes before in other jobs. They help out with jobs because employers are looking for experience and certifications.”

 

This is the second time the department has received a grant from the Redwood Shores, Calif.-based applications and database technology company. The department received a $1 million grant to implement the Oracle Academy beginning in early 2009. About 80 students have been trained to take their Oracle certification tests through this grant, said Iglesias.

 

For more information on the grant, contact Dr. Juan R. Iglesias, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, at 956-882-6605 or juan.iglesias@utb.edu . TBB

 

 

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