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Category: Continuing Education and Seminar Marketing

Satellite 2024 Last Week and The Space Symposium Is Next

Posted on by Bob
Applied Technology Institute is always looking for new clients, and we are always looking for new Instructors to teach their courses for us.  One of the ways that ATI accomplishes these goals is to attend Space Related Conferences. ATI has a wide range of space-related short-courses that may be of interest to you or your […]

Applied Technology Institute is always looking for new clients, and we are always looking for new Instructors to teach their courses for us.  One of the ways that ATI accomplishes these goals is to attend Space Related Conferences.

ATI has a wide range of space-related short-courses that may be of interest to you or your organization.  You can see a listing of our Space courses here, or at ATI Space Short Courses .

Last week, representatives of ATI were working the floor at Satellite 2024 in Washington DC.  It was a wonderful conference, and it was great to see lots of old friends.  If you were there, and we missed you, we apologize, and would still love to talk to you.

Next week, representatives of ATI will be working the floor at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.  We have been there before, and we know that it will be a great time.  Although we hope to drop in on most booths to introduce ourselves, we don’t want to miss you or your organization.  Call us at 619-573-0192 and we would be happy to arrange a time and place to talk while at the Symposium.

If you would like to talk with us, but will not be at Space Symposium, call anyway, and we will discuss how ATI can help your organization meet its technical training goals in 2024.

And, if you simply want to discuss the possibility of teaching for ATI, please call Bob at 410-428-9919.

A full listing of ATI courses can be found at www.aticourses.com

Business Essentials

Posted on by Bob
As an early professional, right out of college and new to my first real job in 1980, I was under the impression that I would spend my entire career simply demonstrating the skills that I had learned in college.  After all, you go to college to learn everything, and then you spend the next 50 […]

As an early professional, right out of college and new to my first real job in 1980, I was under the impression that I would spend my entire career simply demonstrating the skills that I had learned in college.  After all, you go to college to learn everything, and then you spend the next 50 years simply using that knowledge set, right?  Now retired and wiser after a career, I realize that I was very wrong. College merely gives you some basic initial building blocks and teaches you how to think, but it is up to YOU to continue your technical training, and your on-the-job training, throughout your career.  College coursework is important, but it is a very small piece of your career coursework.

Ongoing lifelong learning is necessary for two reasons.

First, technology changes, and you need to stay current.  ATI is positioned to keep you current with ongoing technical training.  A full listing of our courses can be found at www.aticourses.com

Second, your roles and responsibilities will change over the course of your professional lifetime, and as your roles will change, your skills must change too.  While many recent grads and new-hires never think about it, early professionals will eventually become leaders, bosses, and managers.  Consequently, a new skill set will be required, and those skills were likely not have been taught to you in your undergraduate college program.  ATI is here to help. We are offering a new course called Business Essentials for Scientists and Engineers.

This five-day course is comprised of 5 one-day modules which teach Scientist and Engineers the soft skills associated with your profession.  You will learn Project Management Skills, Business Basics, and Publishing Strategies.  While you may get some of this material in your on-the-job training, this course will provide the materials from noted experts in a complete and concise manner.  This course is a must for people who are interested in more than just the pure technical aspects of their job. 

An over view of the upcoming Business Essentials for Scientists and Engineers  follows. 

Day 1 – Business Management for Scientists and Engineers

Day 2 – Project Management Essentials

Day 3 – Accelerating Team Performance

Day 4 – Presentation Skills, Virtual and In-Person

Day 5 – Publishing your Research

You can find additional information on this ATI course here.  You will also find additional information including dates and instructor biographies for each module.   You can also register for this class at this site.  Registering for only particular modules is an option.

A good way to learn more about this course is to attend the upcoming one-hour free webinar where the instructors for each module will tell you more about their courses.  Feel free to attend the free session, even if you are not currently planning to take the course.  Perhaps we will change your mind.  You can register for the free session here.  While there, you can also register for the full course.

We hope you will give this exciting new opportunity a chance.

Engineers and Technical Training Providers Must Remain Relevant

Posted on by Bob
IT would be an understatement to say that one needs to keep current in his or her field in order to excel in their profession.  One of the best ways to keep current would be ongoing technical training.  This training could come from Applied Technology Institute (ATI), or from any of our fine competitors. It […]

IT would be an understatement to say that one needs to keep current in his or her field in order to excel in their profession.  One of the best ways to keep current would be ongoing technical training.  This training could come from Applied Technology Institute (ATI), or from any of our fine competitors.

It would also be an understatement to say that a technical training company must strive to offer courses which reflect the current needs of students, and the company must offer courses that contain current and relevant material for students.  ATI strives to do just that.

One example of a new offering by ATI is “Business Essentials For Scientists and Engineers”.  This course is comprised of 5 one-day modules which teach Scientist and Engineers the soft skills associated with their profession.  Students learn Project Management Skills, Business Basics, and Publishing Strategies.  The material students learn is critical, but not typically taught in most Undergraduate or Graduate Programs.  This course is a must for people who are interested in more than just the pure technical aspects of their project.  The course was developed based on a stated need from our students.

While the soft sciences taught in this course are important, ATI is still a leader in technical short-course training to help you keep current in your field.  ATI recently identified that there may be a need for a short-course training on Sonobuoy Technology.  Based on that need, we have developed just such a class, to fill that void, and will be offering it next month.

If you or your company has a need for technical training, and you are having trouble finding a Training Vendor who offers that training, please don’t give up.  ATI would love to hear about your needs, and we hope to be able to develop the training you are seeking.

To learn more about both of these new offerings at ATI, or to learn about our many other offerings, please visit our page at www.aticourses.com  .  If you would like to talk to us about your training needs, contact information can be found at the same site.

The Value of Short-Course Technical Training

Posted on by Bob
I could not imagine living in a house that does not have a basement.  While most people would simply discard anything that doesn’t fit in the main level of their house, I simply move it to the basement.  So, my basement is quite full of junk.  Sometimes, I need to find something in my basement, […]

I could not imagine living in a house that does not have a basement.  While most people would simply discard anything that doesn’t fit in the main level of their house, I simply move it to the basement.  So, my basement is quite full of junk.  Sometimes, I need to find something in my basement, and I search endlessly, and eventually give up and declare the item “missing”.  In the process of searching, however, I often find things that had previously been declared “missing”.  So, I have come to learn that nothing is ever “missing”, it simply is waiting for a later time to be found.

I thought about my basement when I read about a recent discovery by scientists studying data received from the James Webb Space Telescope.  This telescope is the largest optical telescope in space.  It’s high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments make it capable of viewing objects too distant or too faint for the Hubble Telescope.  This telescope has been in space for only a little more than a year, and it is already sending back data and images that are simply amazing.

Similar to my basement adventures, scientists were recently looking for one thing using the James Webb Space Telescope, and they discovered something entirely different.  NASA scientist were looking for a previously-discovered asteroid, but were unable to find it due its brightness and an offset in the telescope’s direction.  While they could not see the asteroid they were looking for, they did discover another asteroid which had never been seen before.  The new asteroid was very small, demonstrating that the James Webb Telescope was capable of finding asteroids smaller than anything which was previously discoverable with Hubble.  The mission had been declared a failure, but was now declared a great success.

I found this story particularly interesting because in addition to reminding me of my cluttered basement, it also made me think about how many different scientists, and how many different disciplines, and how many different engineering achievements were necessary to ultimately find this asteroid.  It was not a single person, or even a single team of people that got us here.  Designing and building the Telescope was the first task at hand, and that required massive amounts of Systems Engineering and manufacturing expertise.  Launching the Space Telescope into space with a Ariane 5 Rocket was also a huge feat, which required the skills of another team.  Daily operations of the telescope and managing the data from the telescope require even more attention from a completely different set of scientists.  There is huge number of people that had their hands on this discovery, and the future discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope.

To be a well-rounded scientist or engineer, one should have a basic level of understanding of each of the disciplines that contribute to his or her area of expertise.  Short-Course Technical Training like what is offered by Applied Technology Institute is a great way to acquire that basic level of understanding.  ATI can not replace the intensive training a scientist acquired in his or her field of expertise; there is no way a 4-day short course can substitute for a long and rigorous college education.  ATI short-courses can, however, offer a way for a scientist or engineer to become more aware of the many disciplines which work in unison with their field of expertise.  And, even within a scientist’s field of expertise, short-courses can help refresh certain areas of their training.

A complete list of upcoming ATI short-courses, as well a complete list of available short-courses can be found at the ATI homepage ( www.aticourses.com ).  We hope to see you in an upcoming ATI short-course, or an upcoming ATI Free-Session soon.

Certified Systems Engineering Prep ( CSEP ) Exam Preparation

Posted on by Bob
How many of you know about the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) or the various INCOSE Certifications including Associate Systems Engineering Professional ( ASEP ), Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP), or Expert Systems Engineering Professional ( ESEP )? The purpose of this Blog post is to enlighten those who are not aware of the […]

How many of you know about the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) or the various INCOSE Certifications including Associate Systems Engineering Professional ( ASEP ), Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP), or Expert Systems Engineering Professional ( ESEP )?

The purpose of this Blog post is to enlighten those who are not aware of the INCOSE organization, or the INCOSE certifications.  Both of these are things that most Systems Engineers should already know about, and if you don’t, you may find this informative.

INCOSE is comprised of nearly 20,000 Systems Engineering Professionals.  Their mission, as stated on their web page, is “to address complex societal and technical challenges by enabling, promoting, and advancing Systems Engineering and systems approaches.”  Also from their web page, the goals of INCOSE are to 1) be a focal point for dissemination of systems engineering knowledge, 2) promote international collaboration 3) Assure the establishment of professional standards in systems engineering, 4) improve the professional status of all systems engineers, and 5) encourage governmental and industrial support for Systems Engineering.  There is a wealth of other information on their web page, so anyone interested in INCOSE should visit the INCOSE Web site.

One of the services that INCOSE has provided is a mechanism for Systems Engineers to be certified at some level as a Systems Engineering Professional ( ASEP, CSEP or ESEP ), indicating that they have met all of the standards defined by INCOSE, indicating that the individual is a qualified Systems Engineer.   Earning an INCOSE certification is not easy, but it is something that over 3000 individuals have accomplished to date.

Mark Wilson, from Strategy Bridge and INCOSE recently published a study where he pontificates on whether or not the INCOSE CSEP certification is worthwhile.   Warning, spoilers coming, leave this page immediately if you don’t want to know how the story ends …….  He concludes that the INCOSE SE certifications ARE worthwhile, both for the individual who earns the certification, and for the organization that employs that individual.

Earning the ASEP certification requires that the individual pass a rigorous exam demonstrating knowledge of Systems Engineering concepts.  CSEP certification also requires that the individual have a demonstrated track record of having worked successfully in a Systems Engineering role.  ESEP certification simply raises the bar and requires more experience.    To prepare for the exam, candidates often take a short-course which reviews many of the concepts that are tested.

Applied Technology Institute offers a 3-day short course called CSEP Preparation which will prepare students for the INCOSE SE exam, applicable to any of the three certification levels.  This course walks through the CSEP requirements and the INCOSE Handbook to cover all topics that might be on the INCOSE exam. Interactive work, study plans, and three sets of sample examination questions help you to prepare effectively for the exam. Participants leave the course with solid knowledge, a hard copy of the INCOSE Handbook, study plans, and a sample examination.

ATI will be offering the next CSEP Prep ( live virtual ) class starting on November 15, 2022.  Students may register for this class using the link above. 

We hope to see you at the CSEP Prep course in November. 

If you are interested in other courses currently offered by ATI, you can view our schedule of upcoming classes here.

ATI Now Offers On-Demand Systems Engineering Training

Posted on by Bob
Today’s complex systems present difficult challenges to develop. From military systems to aircraft to environmental and IT systems, development teams must face the challenges with an arsenal of proven methods. Systems Engineering allows us to take advantage of specialization to help reduce cost and schedule in developing successful systems. So, you know that this is […]

Today’s complex systems present difficult challenges to develop. From military systems to aircraft to environmental and IT systems, development teams must face the challenges with an arsenal of proven methods. Systems Engineering allows us to take advantage of specialization to help reduce cost and schedule in developing successful systems.

So, you know that this is an important skill that you need learn; no question about that. 

But, what can you do if your you or your employer simply can’t afford the time or money to take the full SE Fundamentals course offered by ATI?  Well, ATI now has a solution to that problem that may be of interest to you.

Systems Engineering – Fundamentals ON-DEMAND is a concise and portable pre-recorded series of 6 self-contained modules.  The on-demand class is taught by the same instructor who teaches more conventional SE classes for ATI.  Each module is approximately one hour long and covers the underlying attitudes as well as the process definitions that makeup systems engineering.  The model presented is a research-proven combination of the best existing standards.  

This 6-Module course can be played on any browser and is available 24/7/60:  around the clock for 60 days.   You will be able to ask questions of the instructors via email for 90 days from the date of activation.  Activation will occur during normal business hours ET.   The downloadable course slides are yours to keep.

  To learn more about this exciting new opportunity, or to register for this Course, please visit:

On Demand Courses – ATI Courses

And, as always, you can learn about the full set of courses offered by ATI, including other  Systems Engineering Classes which are not offered on-demand, at www.aticourses.com

Don’t Miss Out On This

Posted on by Bob
ATI will be offering Business Management for Scientists and Engineers for the first time on May 24. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get some great insights from our two esteemed Instructors, Dr. Alan Tribble and Mr. Alan Breitbart. Business Management for Scientists and Engineers will help technical professionals understand how to leverage technical excellence to create […]

ATI will be offering Business Management for Scientists and Engineers for the first time on May 24. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get some great insights from our two esteemed Instructors, Dr. Alan Tribble and Mr. Alan Breitbart.

Business Management for Scientists and Engineers will help technical professionals understand how to leverage technical excellence to create business success. The course is focused on conveying an understanding of basic business principles and illustrating how they intersect with the technical factors that govern an engineer’s career. This knowledge can make you a more effective engineer, by showing you how to tailor your message to address the key points business leaders look for when making decisions. It can also create opportunities to transition from the role of a technical contributor to that of a business leader. Most of the examples used are from the aerospace and defense industry, but the key lessons would apply equally well to other industries. 

The Instructors for this course are excited about this class.

Dr. Alan Tribble is an Associate Director of Program Management in the aerospace and defense industry. He started his technical career as a space environment effects specialist for a major spacecraft manufacturer and also supported airborne communications and navigation products before making the leap to the business side. He spent several years in international business development before moving into program management. He holds a B.S. in Physics from the University of Arkansas, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Iowa; is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute; and is the winner of the 2008 James A. Van Allen Space Environments Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. 

Mr. Alan Breitbart is a business development manager in the aerospace and defense industry. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois, and an MBA in International Marketing from Loyola University.

A message from Dr. Tribble………

I’m pleased to report that the second edition of the book Business Management for Scientists and Engineers is finally in press. That means it’s now full speed ahead as we focus on updating and finalizing the presentation material for the course.  

I’m getting excited now that we’re only a month away, and I get even more excited when I get email like the one below that I received over the weekend:  “Having provided engineering services and consulting for a long time, I learned the value of knowing something about business. But I wish that I had started with your webinar or book 20 years ago!” – Mark Pittelkau, Aerospace Control Systems, LLC

Wow! What a great endorsement. I’m looking forward to a great webinar on May 24th and 25th. Hope you can join us.

Please visit Business Management for Scientists and Engineers – ATI Courses to learn more about the course, and to register to attend.

We hope to see you there.

ATI Is Offering Free Stuff

Posted on by Bob
You have heard that technical training is very important, but it often takes a back seat to doing the “real work.”  Wait, what?  Isn’t keeping abreast in your field part of your “real work”?  Doesn’t keeping current in your field better allow you to continue performing at your peak, and allow your company to continue […]

You have heard that technical training is very important, but it often takes a back seat to doing the “real work.”  Wait, what?  Isn’t keeping abreast in your field part of your “real work”?  Doesn’t keeping current in your field better allow you to continue performing at your peak, and allow your company to continue to thrive?  Technical Training is important, especially during the current fiscal climate.

Technical Training Companies, like Applied Technology Institute, are here to help.   If you are a scientist or engineer, we probably have courses that you will find useful and interesting.  You can view our offerings at www.aticourses.com

You have heard that technical training is too expensive.  Wait, what?  The return on your investment in technical training can be immense, so the cost should not be a factor.  Maybe ATI can help here.

You have heard that technical training often is not what is promised, or that the instructor turned out to be a real dud.  Wait, what?  Maybe ATI can help here too.

ATI recently introduced “Free Short Sessions.”  These sessions are live virtual previews of an upcomimg ATI course, presented by the actual instructor.  As the name implies, they are totally free, and as the name also implies, they are short, one hour in duration.  We hold these Free Short Sessions during the mid-day ( Eastern Time ), so that many of our students can attend them with a sandwich in their hand during their lunch break.  These sessions allow students to see what will be covered in the full course, and it allows them to meet the Instructor.  After the short session, the student will know what to expect.

ATI has been conducting two or three Free Short Sessions per month since last Fall, and everyone seems to be very happy with them.  Even if you have no intention of taking the course, consider attending the Free Session so you can become a little smarter on the topic.  Who knows, ATI and the instructor may even convince you to sign up for the course.

You can find a complete schedule of upcoming ATI courses, including our Free Short Sessions, at www.aticourses.com .  You can also register for courses and short sessions from that page.

We hope to see you at an upcoming Free Short Session.  Feel free to bring a sandwich, and a friend.  Dress code is casual. 

Tis The Season

Posted on by Bob
Although most ATI blogs are written for the benefit of students or prospective students, this one is written for the benefit of instructors or prospective instructors.  It should be of interest to students as well as instructors though, as students want to know about their instructors, and even more importantly, today’s student may become tomorrow’s […]

Although most ATI blogs are written for the benefit of students or prospective students, this one is written for the benefit of instructors or prospective instructors.  It should be of interest to students as well as instructors though, as students want to know about their instructors, and even more importantly, today’s student may become tomorrow’s instructor.

As anyone who reads the news knows, many companies are having trouble finding qualified and motivated people to work for them.  Although ATI is blessed with a large cadre of great instructors, we are always looking for new blood, and it can be difficult at times to find new instructors, particularly during holiday seasons when people have more important things to worry about.

So, I was meditating last night, thinking about the attributes that I normally associate with a good instructor, or that I normally look for in a person that we may want to hire as an instructor.  If we can come up with list of those attributes, then we simply need to find a person that has all of those attributes, and hire that person.  Sounds simple.  So, let’s talk about attributes.

First, the person needs to be a Subject Matter Expert on Rocket Science.  Based on one of our current needs, SMEs in Aerodynamic Propulsion and GPS would be very desirable.

Second, the person needs to be highly organized and a very hard worker, for obvious reasons.  The instructor should realize that the demand for classes is not always the same, so there may be very busy times of the year, and there may be slow times.

Third, the person has to like students, and he must enjoy working with students.

Fourth, the person should be mature, with lots of experience, and a demonstrated ability to do his job year after year.

Fifth, the person has to be willing to do some marketing, and help ATI talk to prospective students during the run-up to the course, and maybe even talk to students during our free sessions.

Sixth, the person might live locally in the Baltimore/Washington area, but that is not a hard requirement.  The person can live in very remote location and he can travel as required to meet with students.

With this list in mind, I went to our Data base of a three zillion prospective instructors, and I found a single person that has every one of our desired attributes.  So, let me describe this person named Nick.  For confidentiality reasons, I will not share his last name.  I will talk a little about how he demonstrates each of the attributes.

Nick is an expert in Aerial Ship Design and Operations, in fact, he drives his Ship around annually, and relies on GPS to make a huge number of stops.  Nick is very organized and a hard worker, as demonstrated by the huge number of stops associated with the annual trip that he makes in his Air Ship.  Nick loves working with kids and students and enjoys making them happy.  Nick usually spends the month leading up to his annual trip meeting with kids that he plans to visit on the night of his trip.  At these pre-trip meetings, he and the kids often discuss goals and expectations, so Nick can be better prepared for the start of his trip.  Lastly, although Nick lives in a very remote place, he is very willing to travel great distances, and he has demonstrated that year after year, for so many years.

I tried to contact Nick and see if we can get him to teach for us, but his voice mail indicated that he was too busy to talk to me, but that I should call him back after Christmas when his schedule will be much lighter.  I did not want to wait that long to talk to him, so I decided to visit him, but was unable to find any good deals on flights to his home at the North Pole.

Please take a look at our schedule of upcoming classes here.  Although you will not see Nick’s classes listed yet, please check back often after the holidays to see if we were successful hiring him.

On a serious note, ATI really is always looking for new instructors.  If you think you would like to teach for us, please let us know, so we can talk more about it.

ATI wishes everyone a very happy upcoming holiday season.  We are always here to help you, even during this very busy holiday season.  

Tireless Wireless

Posted on by Bob
Although the concept of Wireless Communications is pretty simple, the method by which it happens is anything but simple.   It’s like the old joke, we all love to eat sausage, but we really would rather not think about how it is made.  We all take wireless communications for granted when we use our cell phone, […]

Although the concept of Wireless Communications is pretty simple, the method by which it happens is anything but simple.   It’s like the old joke, we all love to eat sausage, but we really would rather not think about how it is made.  We all take wireless communications for granted when we use our cell phone, but there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes.

Wireless networks have a lot of advantages over wired networks.   To name a few, wireless networks are cheaper and easier to install and maintain.  They can be accessed at almost any time from almost any place.  And, wireless networks can transmit more data, and transmit it more quickly than a wired network.  The biggest disadvantage of a wireless network is that it can be more susceptible to security threats and data exploitation.

For years, wireless networks have been considered the norm in communication systems, but in the last two years, the importance of wireless networks has increased dramatically due to the pandemic.  As astutely observed by Ahmadi, Katzis, Shakir, Arvaneh, and Gatherer in their April 2020 paper titled  Wireless Communication and the Pandemic: The Story So Far ,  the role of telecommunications in keeping people connected and working has been phenomenal.

The authors point out that the three most significant contributions of wireless networks have been connectivity for healthcare, connectivity for education, and connectivity for retail and supply chain.  The ability to maintain healthcare, education, and retail has been critical to keeping the world up and running with some sense of normalcy during the pandemic.  

For healthcare, 5G mobile technology can reliably connect hospitals, ambulances, and homes to make healthcare service more efficient.  For education, wireless communications allow students of all ages to remain connected with their teachers, whether they are in the local school, or in a college or university half way around the globe.  For Retail, wireless communications allowed people to purchase necessities, and have them delivered to their homes, without undue exposure to the pathogens.  For companies, wireless communications allowed businesses to order and receive things that allowed them to stay open for business, and keep their workforce working.

There will always be a need for wireless communication networks, but that need will be particularly great during the remainder of this pandemic, and whenever the next pandemic comes about.  It is critical that our wireless communications infrastructure be in place now and in the future to meet the ever-increasing demand for bandwidth.

To learn more about wireless communications, consider taking the upcoming ATI Wireless Communications course.  You can read more about this course, and register for it here. 

And, as always, a complete list of the ATI courses which may interest you can be found here.

Leading The Way, To Diversity

Posted on by Bob
Leading by example, that is one of the things that I admire most. Leading people on, that is something I do not like at all. So, you may be asking, where am I going with this blog?  I am glad you asked. I have been active in STEM recruiting for many years.  I have always […]

Leading by example, that is one of the things that I admire most.

Leading people on, that is something I do not like at all.

So, you may be asking, where am I going with this blog?  I am glad you asked.

I have been active in STEM recruiting for many years.  I have always been of the belief that Science and Engineering stands to benefit immensely by having a diverse work force.  For that reason, I believe that it is important that smart and enthusiastic people be attracted to, and recruited by, the STEM workforce.  This should include males and females, young and old, minorities and non-minorities, democrats and republicans, straight and gay, I could go on and on.  But we must find people who are joining the STEM workforce for the right reasons.  I do not believe that anyone, regardless of their demographics, should be encouraged to enter the STEM workforce solely because jobs are plentiful or salaries are high.  To recruit someone using only these enticements would simply be “leading them on.”  It would set those individuals up for unhappiness and failure, and that would be wrong.  STEM workers need to love STEM, and find a job which allows them to love working in STEM.  A better way for recruiting a diverse STEM workforce would be for a STEM professional from one of the underrepresented groups “leading by example”, thus showing other members of that underrepresented group that STEM careers can be fun and rewarding as well as profitable.

I recently learned about Abagail Harrison, also known as Astronaut Abby.  She is a young  STEM professional from an underrepresented group, and she is effectively leading by example.  She generally does not call attention to the fact that she is a well-paid woman in STEM, but rather, she simply shows her excitement and her achievements in STEM, and thus becomes a role model that similar underrepresented people can aspire to, if, and only if, they are attracted to work in the STEM field.    Take a look at her Mars Generation Page, and you will see what I mean. 

Abagail does occasionally use her blog to salute certain underrepresented groups.  In one blog post, she identifies “11 Women Who Broke Barriers in the Space Industry”.  In another recent blog post, she identified “10 Black Americans Who Made Extraordinary Contributions to Space Exploration.”  In both these cases, she is providing a list of role models who our future STEM workforce can look up to.

So, what can a Technical Training company do to increase diversity in the STEM workforce?  We can continue to track our statistics, and watch to see if the situation is improving.  We look forward to a day in the future when the efforts of people like Abagail Harrison will result in a more diverse STEM workforce, a more diverse set of potential Instructors, and a more diverse Student pool.  When that day comes, ATI will be blessed with the opportunity to have more underrepresented Instructors, and more underrepresented students. 

In the meantime, please support businesses like ours that are making every effort to see more diversity in the STEM workforce.  To learn more about Applied Technology Institute, or to register for one of our courses, or to register for one of our free short courses, please visit us at www.ATIcourses.com.

What we have here is a failure to communicate ( Systems Engineering )

Posted on by Bob
Although the term “Systems Engineering” dates back to the 1940s, and the concept was practiced even earlier than that, there seems to be a growing emphasis on System Engineering, perhaps because Systems have become more complex in recent times.  During my early years of training and practice as an electrical engineer decades ago, I do […]

Although the term “Systems Engineering” dates back to the 1940s, and the concept was practiced even earlier than that, there seems to be a growing emphasis on System Engineering, perhaps because Systems have become more complex in recent times.  During my early years of training and practice as an electrical engineer decades ago, I do not recall hearing or learning much about Systems Engineering, but it seems to have gotten much more well-deserved attention since then.  Feel free to argue these points if you wish, but this has been my observation.

So, what can go wrong if Systems Engineering principles are ignored?  What could possibly go wrong if you have multiple engineers concentrating on their own aspect of the overall design, and no one paying attention to the overall system?    Take a look at this humorous video and see what can happen…

But seriously, though…..

One of the best descriptions of Systems Engineering that I have seen is from INCOSE ( International Council on Systems Engineering ).  It says “Systems engineers are at the heart of creating successful new systems. They are responsible for the system concept, architecture, and design. They analyze and manage complexity and risk. They decide how to measure whether the deployed system actually works as intended. They are responsible for a myriad of other facets of system creation. Systems engineering is the discipline that makes their success possible – their tools, techniques, methods, knowledge, standards, principles, and concepts. The launch of successful systems can invariably be traced to innovative and effective systems engineering.”

So, how can today’s busy and overworked engineer learn more about Systems Engineering?  Or, even if you think you already know everything about Systems Engineering, how can you refresh your knowledge so it is more relevant to the workplace of 2019? 

Applied Technology Institute may have exactly what you are looking for.  ATI recently merged with Honourcode, Inc., and now offers a full line of Systems Engineering courses being taught by original Honourcode instructors, including Eric Honour.

 There is still time to register for our next offering of Applied Systems Engineering, being offered in Columbia, Md starting on September 23, 2019.  This course includes a  hands-on class exercise conducted in small groups. Part A analyzes a system concept and requirements, developing specific test requirements,. Part B creates an effective test program and test procedures for the product system. Part C builds the robotic systems per assembly instructions. Part D implements the test program to evaluate the final robots.  It is a really fun and informative in-class exercise.   Here is a cool video of the System Product built in this class.

Please read more about this opportunity at the following link.

https://aticourses.com/training_classes/applied-systems-engineering-m120/

Happy Groundhog Day!

Posted on by Bob
We are halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, also known as, Groundhog day!  If you want to know more about the origins of this tradition, you can find that at the link below, but the story involves bears and badgers, and Germans and Christians, and superstition and science.  You can’t make this […]

We are halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, also known as, Groundhog day!  If you want to know more about the origins of this tradition, you can find that at the link below, but the story involves bears and badgers, and Germans and Christians, and superstition and science.  You can’t make this stuff up, and you can’t tell the story any better than The Old Farmers Almanac.  Check it out at….

https://www.almanac.com/content/groundhog-day-history-meaning-folklore?

It will be a stretch to relate Groundhog day to courses offered by ATI, but we will give it a try.   That pesky groundhog needs to draw on his Remote Sensing abilities in order to have such a wonderful batting average.  If you want to learn more about Remote Sensing, consider one of the Remote Sensing Courses offered by ATi, like perhaps…  Optical & Remote Sensing or Microwave Remote Sensing or Geomatics – GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing or Directions in Space Remote Sensing.

Lastly, and SPOILER ALERT….Spring will be coming early this year.  I can’t wait.

Groundhog Day 2019:The Prediction and Photos

How to Promote Your ATI Course in Social Media

Posted on by admin
How to Promote Your ATI Course in Social Media LinkedIn for ATI Rocket Scientists   Did you know that for 52% of professionals and executives, their LinkedIn profile is the #1 or #2 search result when someone searches on their name? For ATI instructors, that number is substantially lower – just 17%. One reason is […]
How to Promote Your ATI Course in Social Media LinkedIn for ATI Rocket Scientists   Did you know that for 52% of professionals and executives, their LinkedIn profile is the #1 or #2 search result when someone searches on their name? For ATI instructors, that number is substantially lower – just 17%. One reason is that about 25% of ATI instructors do not have a LinkedIn profile. Others have done so little with their profile that it isn’t included in the first page of search results. If you are not using your LinkedIn profile, you are missing a huge opportunity. When people google you, your LinkedIn profile is likely the first place they go to learn about you. You have little control over what other information might be available on the web about you. But you have complete control over your LinkedIn profile. You can use your profile to tell your story – to give people the exact information you want them to have about your expertise and accomplishments.   Why not take advantage of that to promote your company, your services, and your course? Here are some simple ways to promote your course using LinkedIn… On Your LinkedIn Profile Let’s start by talking about how to include your course on your LinkedIn profile so it is visible anytime someone googles you or visits your profile. 1. Add your role as an instructor. Let people know that this course is one of the ways you share your knowledge. You can include your role as an instructor in several places on your profile:
  • Experience – This is the equivalent of listing your role as a current job. (You can have more than one current job.) Use Applied Technology Institute as the employer. Make sure you drag and drop this role below your full-time position.
  • Summary – Your summary is like a cover letter for your profile – use it to give people an overview of who you are and what you do. You can mention the type of training you do, along with the name of your course.
  • Projects – The Projects section gives you an excellent way to share the course without giving it the same status as a full-time job.
  • Headline – Your Headline comes directly below your name, at the top of your profile. You could add “ATI Instructor” at the end of your current Headline.
Start with an introduction, such as “I teach an intensive course through the Applied Technology Institute on [course title]” and copy/paste the description from your course materials or the ATI website. You can add a link to the course description on the ATI website. This example from Tom Logsdon’s profile, shows how you might phrase it:   Here are some other examples of instructors who include information about their courses on their LinkedIn profile:
  • Buddy Wellborn – His Headline says “Instructor at ATI” and Buddy includes details about the course in his Experience section.
  • D. Lee Fugal – Mentions the course in his Summary and Experience.
  • Jim Jenkins – Courses are included throughout Jim’s profile, including his Headline, Summary, Experience, Projects, and Courses.
  • 2. Link to your course page.
In the Contact Info section of your LinkedIn profile, you can link out to three websites. To add your course, go to Edit Profile, then click on Contact Info (just below your number of connections, next to a Rolodex card icon). Click on the pencil icon to the right of Websites to add a new site. Choose the type of website you are adding. The best option is “Other:” as that allows you to insert your own name for the link. You have 35 characters – you can use a shortened version of your course title or simply “ATI Course.” Then copy/paste the link to the page about your course. This example from Jim Jenkins’ profile shows how a customized link looks:   3. Upload course materials. You can upload course materials to help people better understand the content you cover. You could include PowerPoint presentations (from this course or other training), course handouts (PDFs), videos or graphics. They can be added to your Summary, Experience or Project. You can see an example of an upload above, in Tom Logsdon’s profile. 4. Add skills related to your course. LinkedIn allows you to include up to 50 skills on your profile. If your current list of skills doesn’t include the topics you cover in your course, you might want to add them. Go to the Skills & Endorsements section on your Edit Profile page, then click on Add skill. Start typing and let LinkedIn auto-complete your topic. If your exact topic isn’t included in the suggestions, you can add it. 5. Ask students for recommendations. Are you still in touch with former students who were particularly appreciative of the training you provided in your course? You might want to ask them for a recommendation that you can include on your profile. Here are some tips on asking for recommendations from LinkedIn expert Viveka Von Rosen. 6. Use an exciting background graphic. You can add an image at the top of your profile – perhaps a photo of you teaching the course, a photo of your course materials, a graphic from your presentation, or simply some images related to your topic. You can see an example on Val Traver’s profile. Go to Edit Profile, then run your mouse over the top of the page (just above your name). You will see the option to Edit Background. Click there and upload your image. The ideal size is 1400 pixels by 425. LinkedIn prefers a JPG, PNG or GIF. Of course, only upload an image that you have permission to use.   Share News about Your Course You can also use LinkedIn to attract more attendees to your course every time you teach. 7. When a course date is scheduled, share the news as a status update. This lets your connections know that you are teaching a course – it’s a great way to reach the people who are most likely to be interested and able to make referrals. Go to your LinkedIn home page, and click on the box under your photo that says “Share an update.” Copy and paste the URL of the page on the ATI website that has the course description. Once the section below populates with the ATI Courses logo and the course description, delete the URL. Replace it with a comment such as: “Looking forward to teaching my next course on [title] for @Applied Technology Institute on [date] at [location].” Note that when you finish typing “@Applied Technology Institute” it will give you the option to click on the company name. When you do that ATI will know you are promoting the course, and will be deeply grateful! When people comment on your update, it’s nice to like their comment or reply with a “Thank you!” message. Their comment shares the update with their network, so they are giving your course publicity. If you want to start doing more with status updates, here are some good tips about what to share (and what not to share) from LinkedIn expert Kim Garst. 8. Share the news in LinkedIn Groups. If you have joined any LinkedIn Groups in your areas of expertise, share the news there too. Of course, in a Group you want to phrase the message a little differently. Instead of “Looking forward to teaching…” you might say “Registration is now open for…” or “For everyone interested in [topic], I’m teaching…” You could also ask a thought-provoking question on one of the topics you cover. Here are some tips about how to start an interesting discussion in a LinkedIn Group. 9. Post again if you still have seats available. If the course date is getting close and you are looking for more people to register, you should post again. The text below will work as a status update and in most LinkedIn Groups. “We still have several seats open for my course on [title] on [date] at [location]. If you know of anyone who might be interested, could you please forward this? Thanks. ” “We have had a few last-minute cancellations for my course on [title] on [date] at [location]. Know anyone who might be interested in attending?” 10. Blog about the topic of the course. When you publish blog posts on LinkedIn using their publishing platform, you get even more exposure than with a status update:
  • The blog posts are pushed out to all your connections.
  • They stay visible on your LinkedIn profile, and
  • They are made available to Google and other search engines.
A blog post published on LinkedIn will rank higher than one posted elsewhere, because LinkedIn is such an authority site. So this can give your course considerable exposure. You probably have written articles or have other content relevant to the course. Pick something that is 750-1500 words. To publish it, go to your LinkedIn home page, and click on the link that says “Publish a post.” The interface is very simple – easier than using Microsoft Word. Include an image if you can. You probably have something in your training materials that will be perfect. At the end of the post, add a sentence that says: “To learn more, attend my course on [title].” Link the title to the course description on the ATI website. For more tips about blogging, you are welcome to join ProResource’s online training website. The How to Write Blog Posts for LinkedIn course is free. Take the first step The most important version of your bio in the digital world is your LinkedIn summary. If you only make one change as a result of reading this blog post, it should be to add a strong summary to your LinkedIn profile. Write the summary promoting yourself as an expert in your field, not as a job seeker. Here are some resources that can help: Write the first draft of your profile in a word processing program to spell-check and ensure you are within the required character counts. Then copy/paste it into the appropriate sections of your LinkedIn profile. You will have a stronger profile that tells your story effectively with just an hour or two of work! Contributed by guest blogger Judy Schramm. Schramm is the CEO of ProResource, a marketing agency that works with thought leaders to help them create a powerful and effective presence in social media. ProResource offers done-for-you services as well as social media executive coaching. Contact Judy Schramm at jschramm@proresource.com or 703-824-8482.  

New INCOSE CSEP Handbook v4.0 to be Released! Pass the CSEP test Now!

Posted on by Lisa
New INCOSE Handbook – New CSEP Opportunities The newest INCOSE SE Handbook (version 4.0) is expected this month (June 2015). Now is a great time to plan for the CSEP/ASEP exam best suited to you, because the transition gives you a choice!. Insider Hint – Since the CSEP application process can be long and time […]
New INCOSE Handbook – New CSEP Opportunities The newest INCOSE SE Handbook (version 4.0) is expected this month (June 2015). Now is a great time to plan for the CSEP/ASEP exam best suited to you, because the transition gives you a choice!. Insider Hint – Since the CSEP application process can be long and time intensive, sign up first to become an ASPE. Once you pass the exam, you then can take your time to complete the more demanding CSEP application process. The Handbook was delayed to coincide with the recent release of ISO-15288. Now INCOSE will offer a transition period for you. From now through December 2015, the current exam will continue to be primary, based on Handbook v3.2.2. The new exam will become primary in January 2016 – but the new exam can also be available by special request as early as July. ATI matches the transition with our Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) Preparation course. You can still take our 2-day course based on Handbook v3.2.2 on July 7-8, 2015 in Chantilly, VA. Or you can expand your knowledge with our new 3-day version based on Handbook 4.0 on September 24-26 (and forward). The new course will cover the significant expansion in the new Handbook (another 50 pages!) and will also include more exercises and activities to help you “seal in” the knowledge for the exam. You can choose! Take the shorter course and get your ASEP/CSEP now, before the change – or take the longer course to get the full set of new knowledge and more learning activities. Either way, you advance your career by gaining the INCOSE certification!  
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Agile Boot Camp: Practitioner’s Real-World Solutions

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Video Clip: Click to Watch Practitioner’s Workshop to Pragmatic Real-World Adoption Iteration Planning, Product Roadmap and Backlog, Estimating Practices, User Story Development and Iteration Execution Presented by the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) While not a silver bullet, Agile Methodologies are quickly becoming the most practical way to create outstanding software. Scrum, Extreme Programming, Lean, Dynamic Systems […]
Agile is a wonderful springboard for team building & learning
Video Clip: Click to Watch
Presented by the Applied Technology Institute (ATI)
While not a silver bullet, Agile Methodologies are quickly becoming the most practical way to create outstanding software. Scrum, Extreme Programming, Lean, Dynamic Systems Development Method, Feature Driven Development and other methods each have their strengths. While there are significant similarities that have brought them together under the Agile umbrella, each method brings unique strengths that can be utilized for your team success. Rarely do organizations adopt one methodology in its pure form. Rather success is achieved by combining the best practices, creating a hybrid approach. The only way to Agile success is practice. Agile is an art more than a science. The art of Agile must be practiced and finely tuned over multiple iterations. In this three-day Agile Boot Camp you will put the knowledge, skills, tools and techniques taught to work. The classroom will be broken up into Agile teams and your expert instructor will drive each team through the Agile process from Vision down to Daily planning and execution. Your instructor will answer questions with real world experience, as all of our instructors have Agile experience “in the trenches.” This three-day class is set up in pods/teams. Each team looks like a real-world development unit in Agile with Project Manager/Scrum Master, Business Analyst, Tester and Development. The teams will work through the Agile process including Iteration planning, Product road mapping and backlogging, estimating, user story development iteration execution, and retrospectives by working off of real work scenarios. Specifically, you will: • Practice how to be and develop a self-organized team • Create and communicate a Product Vision • Understand your customer and develop customer roles and personas • Initiate the requirements process by developing user stories and your product backlog • Put together product themes from your user stories and establish a desired product roadmap • Conduct story point estimating to determine effort needed for user stories to ultimately determine iteration(s) length • Take into consideration assumed team velocity with story point estimates and user story priorities to come up with you release plan • Engage the planning and execution of your iteration(s) • Conduct retrospectives after each iteration • Run a course retrospective to enable an individual plan of execution on how to conduct Agile in your environment Who Should Attend? Because this is an immersion course and the intent is to engage in the practices every Agile team will employ, this course is recommended for all team members responsible for delivering outstanding software. That includes, but is not limited to, the following roles:
Business Analyst, Technical Analyst, Project Manager Software Engineer/Programmer, Development Manager, Product Manager Product Analyst, Tester, QA Engineer, Documentation Specialist
What You Will Learn • Practice and maintain a regular cadence when delivering working software each iteration • Follow the team approach; start as a team, finish as a team • Gain knowledge and understanding of Agile principles with context on why they are so important for each team • Embrace planning from Vision down to Daily level, recognizing the value of continuous planning over following a plan • Build a backlog of prioritized stories that provides emergent requirements for analysis that also fosters customer engagement and understanding • Engage in more effective estimating (story points) and become more accurate by being less precise • Pull together Agile release plans that connect you back to business expectations – including hard date commitments and fixed price models • Apply Agile testing strategies based on unit and acceptance testing, which creates a bottom up confirmation that your software works • Avoid the top mistakes made when rolling out Agile practices and how to craft an adoption strategy that will work in your organizational culture Dates and Locations For the dates and locations of these short courses, please see below: 5/2-4/2012, San Diego, CA 5/9-11/2012, Philadelphia, PA 5/14-16/2023, Phoenix, AZ 5/16-18/2012, Washington, DC 5/23-25/2012, Houston, TX 6/6-8/2012, Cleveland, OH 6/13-15/2012, Chicago, IL 6/18-20/2012, Columbia, MD 6/25-27/2012, Baltimore, MD 6/27-29/2012, Kansas City, MO 7/23-25/2012, Boston, MA 7/30-1/2012, Reston, VA 8/8-10/2012, San Diego, CA 8/27-29/2012, St Louis, MO The Agile Boot Camp is a perfect place for cross functional “teams” to become familiar with Agile methods and learn the basics together. It’s also a wonderful springboard for team building & learning. Bring your project detail to work on in class.

Agile Project Management Certification Workshop (PMI-ACP)

Posted on by admin
Video Clip: Click to Watch More than a Methodology Agile Project Management Embraces a Set of Principles AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION WORKSHOP (PMI-ACP) Prepare for your Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification while learning to lead Agile software projects that adapt to change, drive innovation and deliver on-time business value in this Agile PM training course Agile […]
You Need a Very Different Set of Tools to Manage Your IT Projects
Video Clip: Click to Watch
More than a Methodology Agile Project Management Embraces a Set of Principles
Prepare for your Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification while learning to lead Agile software projects that adapt to change, drive innovation and deliver on-time business value in this Agile PM training course Agile has made its way into the mainstream — it’s no longer a grassroots movement to change software development. Today, more organizations and companies are adopting this approach over a more traditional waterfall methodology, and more are working every day to make the transition. To stay relevant in the competitive, changing world of project management, it’s increasingly important that project management professionals can demonstrate true leadership ability on today’s software projects. The Project Management Institute’s Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification clearly illustrates to colleagues, organizations or even potential employers that you’re ready and able to lead in this new age of product development, management and delivery. This class not only prepares you to lead your next Agile project effort, but ensures that you’re prepared to pass the PMI-ACP certification exam. Acquiring this certification now will make you one of the first software professionals to achieve this valuable industry designation from PMI. Who Should Attend: This Agile project management training course is designed for anyone who is considering the use of an Agile methodology for software development, including:
Project Managers, Analysts, Developers, Programmers, Testers IT Managers/Directors, Software Engineers, Software Architects Software Managers, Testing Managers, Team Leaders, Customers.
What You Will Learn: • Embrace a model of continuous planning over simply following a plan • Transform your Agile project management style from “command and control” to “empower and inspire” with your team • Create a cadence for the team and eliminate process distractions for a dramatic boost in efficiency • Establish credible and achievable estimates using Agile project management estimating techniques • Communicate more transparently and reduce interruptions to your team • Rapidly build trust with your customers through frequent and effective collaboration Dates and Locations For the dates and locations of this course, please see below: 5/2/2012-4/2012 Milwaukee, WI 5/9/2012-11/2012 Tampa, FL 5/9/2012-11/2012 Tampa, FL 5/22/2012-25/2012 VIRTUAL TRAINING 5/23/2012-25/2012 Columbia, MD 5/30/2012-1/2012 Raleigh, NC 6/6/2012-8/2012 Boston, MA 6/13/2012-15/2012 Washington, DC 6/18/2012-20/2012 Houston, TX 6/20/2012-22/2012 Denver, CO 6/27/2012-29/2012 Sacramento, CA 7/16/2012-18/2012 Baltimore, MD 7/18/2012-20/2012 St Louis, MO 7/24/2012-27/2012 VIRTUAL TRAINING 7/25/2012-27/2012 Oklahoma City, OK 7/25/2012-27/2012 Philadelphia, PA 7/30/2012-1/2012 Chicago, IL 8/6/2012-8/2012 Washington, DC 8/8/2012-10/2012 Kansas City, MO 8/20/2012-22/2012 Dallas, TX 8/27/2012-29/2012 Minneapolis, MN 8/29/2012-31/2012 Boston, MA 9/5/2012-7/2012 Vancouver, British Columbia 9/19/2012-21/2012 Toronto, Ontario 10/10/2012-12/2012 Calgary, Alberta 10/17/2012-19/2012 Toronto, Ontario 11/14/2012-16/2012 Toronto, Ontario 11/27/2012-29/2012 Vancouver British, Columbia 12/12/2012-14/2012 Toronto, Ontario

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RFPs and RFIs: Do You Know What to Always Include and What Should Never Be Included?

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Video Clip: Click to Watch How to build solid RFIs and RFPs for complicated systems, which will maximize the number of highly qualified bidders This three-day course on proposal writing is designed for engineers, scientists, project managers and other professionals who design, build, test, buy or sell complex systems. Each topic is illustrated by real-world case studies […]
Video Clip: Click to Watch
How to build solid RFIs and RFPs for complicated systems, which will maximize the number of highly qualified bidders
This three-day course on proposal writing is designed for engineers, scientists, project managers and other professionals who design, build, test, buy or sell complex systems. Each topic is illustrated by real-world case studies discussed by experienced system development and acquisition professionals. Key topics are reinforced with small-team exercises. Over two hundred pages of sample Requests for Proposal (RFP) and Requests for Information (RFI) and are provided. Students assess real RFIs and RFPs in class using checklists and templates provided
Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex systems in a short time. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues. If you or your team are in need of more technical training, then boost your career with the knowledge needed to provide better, faster, and cheaper solutions for sophisticated DoD and NASA systems. Why not take a short course? ATI short courses are less than a week long and are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date. Our courses provide a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development of complex systems.  What You Will Learn From This Course:
  • What are Requests for Proposal (RFP)?
  • How do they differ from Requests for Information (RFI)?
  • How can they help us cost-effectively buy robust systems that meet not only the specification but also meet the needs and expectations of the end users?
  • What makes “good” RFIs and RFPs?
  • What should always be included and what should never be included in them?
  • What is the one item that, if missing from the RFP, will ensure no reputable firm will bid the job?
  • What is the one thing that inexperienced RFP writers inadvertently do that guts the competitiveness (only one company will bid) and practically guarantees protests of any contract award?
  • What RFP components and features will attract the most qualified bidders?
Course Outline, Samplers, and Notes BUILDING SOLID REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS After taking this course you will be able to write solid RFPs and RFIs and you will know how a well-crafted one is organized, structured, designed and built by an acquisition/procurement enterprise (either government or a contractor). After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes at the beginning of the class for future reference and can add notes and more detail based on the in-class interaction, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information. About ATI and the Instructors Our mission here at ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses. ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology. Mack McKinney, president and founder of a consulting company, has worked in the defense industry since 1975, first as an Air Force officer for eight years, then with Westinghouse Defense and Northrop Grumman for 16 years, then with a SIGINT company in NY for six years. He now teaches, consults and writes Concepts of Operations for Boeing, Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Raytheon Missile Systems, Joint Forces Command and all the uniformed services. He has US patents in radar processing and hyperspectral sensing. Dates and Locations The dates and locations of this short course are below: Jan 31-Feb 2, 2012        Virginia Beach, VA May 1-3, 2012                  Virginia Beach, VA
 

The New Year is almost Here, Are You Resolved to Learn Next Year?

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What Resolutions Have You Made? Video Clip: Click to Watch Why Not a Short Technical Course for Your New Year’s Resolution? Are you or your team ready to face the challenges of 2012 with what you know now? With technology and industries shifting so quickly businesses need to embrace training just to keep up. Since 1984, […]
What Resolutions Have You Made?
Video Clip: Click to Watch
Why Not a Short Technical Course for Your New Year’s Resolution?
Are you or your team ready to face the challenges of 2012 with what you know now? With technology and industries shifting so quickly businesses need to embrace training just to keep up. Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex systems in a short time. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues. If you or your team is in need of more technical training, then boost your career with the knowledge needed to provide better, faster, and cheaper solutions for sophisticated DoD and NASA systems. Why not take a short course instead? ATI short courses are less than a week long and are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date. Our courses provide a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development of complex systems. Course Outline, Samplers, and Notes
Our short courses are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and defense systems. Determine for yourself the value of our courses before you sign up. See our samples (See Slide Samples) on some of our courses. Or check out the new ATI channel on YouTube. After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes at the beginning of the class for future reference and can add notes and more detail based on the in-class interaction, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information. About ATI and the Instructors Our mission here at ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses. ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.

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Early Technical Short Courses for 2012 are forming Now! Why Not Give Yourself the Gift of Knowledge?

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Video Clip: Click to Watch Are you or your team ready to face the challenges of 2012 with what you know at the end of 2011? With technology and industries shifting so quickly individuals need to embrace training just to keep up. Why not give yourself a gift and take a short course? Our short courses […]
Why Not Self-Gift This Year?
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Are you or your team ready to face the challenges of 2012 with what you know at the end of 2011? With technology and industries shifting so quickly individuals need to embrace training just to keep up. Why not give yourself a gift and take a short course? Our short courses are less than a week long and are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date and provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development of complex systems. For over twenty five years, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex systems in a short time. You will also become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues. If you or your team is in need of more technical training, then boost your career with the knowledge needed to provide better, faster, and cheaper solutions for sophisticated DoD and NASA systems. These 2012 Courses are Forming Now PRACTICAL STATISTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING – USING MATLAB This 4-day course covers signal processing systems for radar, sonar, communications, speech, imaging and other applications based on state-of-the-art computer algorithms. These algorithms include important tasks such as data simulation, parameter estimation, filtering, interpolation, detection, spectral analysis, beamforming, classification, and tracking. Until now these algorithms could only be learned by reading the latest technical journals. This course will take the mystery out of these designs by introducing the algorithms with a minimum of mathematics and illustrating the key ideas via numerous examples using MATLAB. COMPUTATIONAL ELECTROMAGNETICS This 3-day course teaches the basics of CEM with application examples. Fundamental concepts in the solution of EM radiation and scattering problems are presented. Emphasis is on applying computational methods to practical applications. You will develop a working knowledge of popular methods such as the FEM, MOM, FDTD, FIT, and TLM including asymptotic and hybrid methods. Students will then be able to identify the most relevant CEM method for various applications, avoid common user pitfalls, understand model validation and correctly interpret results. Students are encouraged to bring their laptop to work examples using the provided FEKO Lite code. You will learn the importance of model development and meshing, post- processing for scientific visualization and presentation of results. Participants will receive a complete set of notes, a copy of FEKO and textbook. STRAPDOWN AND INTEGRATED NAVIGATION SYSTEMS In this highly structured 4-day short course – specifically tailored to the needs of busy engineers, scientists, managers, and aerospace professionals – Thomas S. Logsdon will provide you with new insights into the modern guidance, navigation, and control techniques now being perfected at key research centers around the globe. The various topics are illustrated with powerful analogies, full-color sketches, block diagrams, simple one-page derivations highlighting their salient features, and numerical examples that employ inputs from today’s battlefield rockets, orbiting satellites, and deep-space missions. These lessons are carefully laid out to help you design and implement practical performance-optimal missions and test procedures. Course Outline, Samplers, and Notes Our short courses are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and defense systems. Determine for yourself the value of our other courses before you sign up. See our samples (See Slide Samples) on some of our courses. Or check out the new ATI channel on YouTube. After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes at the beginning of the class for future reference and can add notes and more detail based on the in-class interaction, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information. About ATI and the Instructors Our mission here at ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses. ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.

Are you Ready to Face the Challenges of Tomorrow with what You Know Today?

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Stop Looking! Start Training! Video Clip: Click to Watch Can You Afford NOT to Train when Technologies and Industries Change So Rapidly? Are you or your team ready to face the challenges of tomorrow with what you know today? With technologies and industries shifting so quickly, businesses need to embrace training just to keep up. Some […]
Stop Looking! Start Training!
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Can You Afford NOT to Train when Technologies and Industries Change So Rapidly?
Are you or your team ready to face the challenges of tomorrow with what you know today? With technologies and industries shifting so quickly, businesses need to embrace training just to keep up. Some may complain that training is too expensive or fails to deliver its promise. But what is the real cost of slower sales and lower growth? Maybe you and your organization stop looking for perfect employees and start training them instead? As Wharton management Professor Peter Cappelli recently wrote in The Wall Street Journal: “Companies need to stop pinning so much of the blame on our nation’s education system. They need to drop the idea of finding perfect candidates and look for people who could do the job with a bit of training and practice.” We can help you. Why not take a short course? ATI short courses are less than a week long and are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date. Our courses provide a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development of complex systems. Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex systems in a short time. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues. If you or your team are in need of more technical training, then boost your career with the knowledge needed to provide better, faster, and cheaper solutions for sophisticated DoD and NASA systems. You will receive a full set of detailed notes at the beginning of the class for future reference and can add notes and more detail based on the in-class interaction, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information. Course Outline, Samplers, and Notes Our short courses are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and defense systems. Determine for yourself the value of our courses before you sign up. See our samples (See Slide Samples) on some of our courses. Or check out the new ATI channel on YouTube. After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes from the class for future reference, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information. About ATI and the Instructors Our mission here at ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses. ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology. Dates and Locations For the times, dates and locations of all of our short courses, please access the links below. Sincerely, The ATI Courses Team P.S. Call today for registration at 410-956-8805 or 888-501-2100 or access our website at ATI  Courses.  For general questions please email us at ATI@ATIcourses.com
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New Jersey Teacher Wins National Award with Help from ATI!

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Video Clip: Click to Watch Terry Dougherty wins Great American Teach-Off  for Her Work Tutoring Children of Military Families Nominated by a local Rotary Club, Dougherty was one of top ten finalists left fighting for the prize. Hundreds of teachers from all over the country were nominated for this prestigious honor. Participants, families and friends were […]
Seven Seals Award
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Terry Dougherty wins Great American Teach-Off  for Her Work Tutoring Children of Military Families
Nominated by a local Rotary Club, Dougherty was one of top ten finalists left fighting for the prize. Hundreds of teachers from all over the country were nominated for this prestigious honor. Participants, families and friends were then all allowed to vote online for their favorite teachers, just like in American Idol. Each week, after all the votes were tallied, the two teachers with the lowest number of votes were eliminated from the contest. Jim Jenkins, President of the Applied Technology Institute (ATI), helped support Terry Dougherty for the award by forwarding the announcement of the contest to his instructors and people that he knows in the military. The people responded. From all over the world, all branches of the services, veteran organizations, service clubs etc., they responded. In what became a weekly ritual, they responded and voted for her. They keep voting, each and every week, until the end, until she won. The real winners in all of this are of course the children. Dougherty’s husband Tom started the tutoring program three years ago as a way to help children in need. Because military families relocate frequently, their children often suffer at school. The Seven Seals award is given through the U.S. Department of Defense to a civilian who is working to help military families. The award comes with a $10,000 grant. She will to use the grant money to purchase equipment for a mobile lab. The lab will allow parents stationed overseas participate in school activities. About ATI Since 1984, ATI has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to adult learners. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex systems in a short time. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues.

What there is to Know Grows Exponentially Every Day

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Thomas Edison and His Phonograph (1877) Video Clip: Click to Watch In a knowledge-based economy, your success is directly proportional to the amount of knowledge you possess As Thomas Edison observed, “We don’t know one millionth of one percent about anything.” At the rate at which new information is generated today, doesn’t it seem like the […]
Thomas Edison and His Phonograph (1877)
Thomas Edison and His Phonograph (1877)
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In a knowledge-based economy, your success is directly proportional to the amount of knowledge you possess
As Thomas Edison observed, “We don’t know one millionth of one percent about anything.” At the rate at which new information is generated today, doesn’t it seem like the gap between what you know and what you need is to know is growing at a dizzying pace? From submarine sonar to military radar to an orbiting spacecraft, you or your team must face the challenges of tomorrow with what you know today. With the practical knowledge gained from a short course, you can put textbook theories into real-world practice and expand your problem-solving and risk management skills significantly. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of these complex systems in a short time. Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Our courses provide a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development of complex systems. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues. Course Outline, Samplers, and Notes Our short courses are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and defense systems. Determine for yourself the value of our courses before you sign up. See our samples (See Slide Samples) on some of our courses. Or check out the new ATI channel on YouTube. After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes from the class for future reference, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information.

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Does Boosting Your Skills in a Short Time Work for You?

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Video Clip: Click to Watch Can you or your team face the challenges of tomorrow with an arsenal of proven methods and skills that you know today? Question: By the way, when was the last time you updated your current skills or learned new ones? Answer: It could be as easy as taking a short course […]
Tomorrow is Coming. Are You Ready?
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Can you or your team face the challenges of tomorrow with an arsenal of proven methods and skills that you know today?
Question: By the way, when was the last time you updated your current skills or learned new ones? Answer: It could be as easy as taking a short course or two to stay updated in your current field.
If you are in need of more technical training, then boost your career with the knowledge needed to provide better, faster, and cheaper solutions for sophisticated DoD and NASA systems. How many of the following situations apply to you: • Don’t have the time for a full semester college course? • Is the nearest class clear across town at rush hour? • Do your educational needs run more toward “Advanced Topics in Digital Signal Processing” instead of “Introduction to Business”? • Do you count decibels (dBs) more often than dollars ($)? • Is the radar equation more familiar to you than one for amortized interest rates? • You think satellites are sexy, not Lady Gaga? If one or more of situations apply to you, why not take a short course instead? Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex systems in a short time. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues. ATI short courses are less than a week long and are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date. Our courses provide a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development of complex systems. Course Outline, Samplers, and Notes After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes from the class for future reference, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information. Our short courses are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and defense systems. Determine for yourself the value of our courses before you sign up. See our samples (See Slide Samples) on some of our courses. Or check out the new ATI channel on YouTube. About ATI and the Instructors Our mission here at ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses. ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.

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Are Your Soft Skills Hard on Your Career?

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  Video Clip: Click to Watch “Soft Skills” May Help You Get or Keep a Job In a 2008 survey of more than 2,000 businesses in the state of Washington, employers said entry-level workers in a variety of professions were lacking in several areas, including problem solving, conflict resolution and critical observation. You’ll likely see […]
Even He Can't Do It Alone
  Video Clip: Click to Watch “Soft Skills” May Help You Get or Keep a Job In a 2008 survey of more than 2,000 businesses in the state of Washington, employers said entry-level workers in a variety of professions were lacking in several areas, including problem solving, conflict resolution and critical observation. You’ll likely see these “soft skills” in job descriptions, after demands for technical qualifications. Employment experts agree that tech skills may get you an interview, but these soft skills will get you the job and keep it. Since 1984, ATI has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Some of our courses cover these “soft skills” as well. One of these “soft skills” is teamwork. Forming and leading teams is critical to becoming a successful leader. Successful leaders learn good team formation skills teamwork is a keystone of effective projects. Some of our teamwork related courses are summarized below. ATI PROJECT DOMINANCE COURSE This two-day course is designed for engineers, scientists and managers who work in the projects domain on complex systems. Students will learn how to build a cancellation-resistant project, how to form and lead a world-class project team and how to lead the entire effort to a successful conclusion. Cross-discipline and inter-generational techniques are taught and key topics are reinforced with small-team exercises. Attendees are given the Meyers-Briggs© assessment – many discover mismatches in temperament and assignment. All learn how to be much more effective on Project Teams. ATI’S PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW AND LEADERSHIP COURSE This class is an introductory class to the Project Management discipline. It includes the basics of Project Management as well as Leadership as it pertains to Project Management. This course is intended for project managers and team leaders who need a good foundation for further study in Project Management. There are no prerequisites for this course. ATI’S FUNDAMENTALS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE Today’s complex systems present difficult challenges to develop. From military systems to aircraft to environmental and electronic control systems, development teams must face the challenges with an arsenal of proven methods. Individual systems are more complex, and systems operate in much closer relationship, requiring a system-of-systems approach to the overall design. This three-day workshop presents the fundamentals of project management approach to solving complex problems. What you will learn: • How to prepare a sound plan for your project and maximize your probability of success • How to achieve Buy-In from the people who will perform the work on the project • How to deal with conflict and also to use it to the advantage of your project • Techniques for monitoring and controlling the outcome of your project • Effective approaches to managing multiple projects Course Outline, Samplers, and Notes Determine for yourself the value of our courses before you sign up. See our samples (See Slide Samples) on some of our courses. Or check out the new ATI channel on YouTube. After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes from the class for future reference, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information.

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