Southwest Virginia – March 2021. The Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) proudly announces the inaugural ELITE grant launch, Virginia’s first-ever work-based learning grant for mentored software developers. The Experiential Learning In Tech Employment (ELITE) grant connects top student engineers with local technology employers through a mentoring program that advances developers while they serve on project teams building mission-critical solutions.
The Exelaration Center, a software development center in Blacksburg, has mobilized two professionally-led top student engineers from Virginia Tech and Radford to local startups: KlariVis and ArchiveCore. Exelaration Mentor Matt McHugh is leading a team of five student engineers building a technology solution for KlariVis, while Mentor Andrew Lindberg leads a two-member development team for ArchiveCore.
“ArchiveCore needed a trusted technology partner to advise on tech direction across a wide variety of challenges, from security to feature prioritization to blockchain to design. Utilizing Exelaration and the ELITE Grant funding allowed us to take our business to the next level by accessing experts without paying the full-time equivalent cost.” Lennox McNeary, COO and Co-Founder of ArchiveCore.
“We are thrilled to witness the realization of the ELITE grant vision, closing the tech talent gap and providing regional employers like KlariVis and ArchiveCore the resources to complete critical software projects,” says John Phillips, President, RBTC.
The ELITE grant is a partnership between RBTC, GO Virginia, regional employers, and local professional internship organizations like Exelaration.
“We serve clients everywhere, but our favorite thing is when we connect our top Exelaration engineers with leading dynamic tech companies right here in our area,” said Steve Cooper, Exelaration CEO. “Clients get their software built while we build their future tech workforce. And the student engineers gain valuable work-based learning.”
###
About RBTC
Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council is a member-driven association working to promote the growth of the Roanoke-Blacksburg technology and innovation community. Membership ranges from emerging technology firms to the largest employers in the region. RBTC is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. To learn more, visit rbtc.tech.
About Exelaration
Exelaration is a top-ranked professional internship organization (PIO). In November, they were ranked by Vault.com as the #3 technology and engineering internship in the country, #2 for mentoring and training, #4 for overall diversity, #5 for career development, and #7 best internship overall. Since 2009, Exelaration has paired expert technologists with high-performing undergraduate students to develop essential software for real clients while training the next generation of developers in best practices.
