Beacon Council’s Technology Committee launches 3 projects to support COVID-19 recovery

 
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Miami-Dade Beacon Council’s Technology Committee  has  launched a  series of initiatives aimed at supporting the county’s economic recovery and talent development, including a jobs and career services portal to connect workers to opportunities in tech.
Led by Yuda Saydun, president of CyVent Cybersecurity and Technology Committee chair at Miami-Dade Beacon Council, the committee used feedback from a series of surveys and conversations with local businesses to identify pain points and  select three high-level priorities. These led to the creation of 1MPACT, a series of a small number of impactful projects executed over a 3-month sprint.
The projects are:

  • MiamiTech.Works — a one-stop-shop portal with local information aimed at helping displaced workers looking to upskill, reskill and succeed within the current and new market demands. Modeled after General Assemb.ly’s efforts in other markets and created by a coalition of leaders from Miami’s tech ecosystem, Miami’s  business community, education and government, the portal’s main objective is to connect those recently laid off or facing reduced working hours and interested in a career transition with local reskilling opportunities, such as short courses by local coding schools, personalized career development coaching and one-on-one access to hiring managers of companies currently looking for workers. The portal is set to launch today with a 3-month pilot.
  • The Distancing Detector (SDD) – a new data-driven business tool that, leverages machine learning and computer vision techniques to identify adherence of social distancing guidelines. This tool is an open-source, free to the public technology that focuses on helping physical locations better manage their spaces for safety and health.
  • A regional collaboration by Florida International University (FIU), Miami Dade College (MDC) and the University of Miami (UM) for a workshop to develop Post Disaster Smart Response and Resilience in Critical Infrastructure, Security, and Data.  The workshop will bring together key stakeholders dealing with critical infrastructure resources in South Florida to discuss and address the most pressing cybersecurity issues. The goal of the workshop is to explore and enable smarter response techniques and more resilient critical infrastructure components that involve cybersecurity and data. 

“In all three sub-committees, the levels of commitment, care, and enthusiasm were as remarkable as spontaneous. Each of the projects was driven by brilliant volunteers within tight deadlines and an unwavering view to deliver pragmatic, timely, relevant results,” said Saydun, in a press release.
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Nancy Dahlberg