As the past few years have seen Cincinnati’s nascent startup-scene begin to take off, there has been a concurrent need to find talent that can bolster and augment this scene. Enter Revved, a partnership between
Xavier University and a few stalwart local entrepreneurs aimed at harvesting just this type of talent.
Revved offers 5-to-10-week courses (depending on the topic) held at Xavier University that teach the latest in tech and creative skills, including coding and design. Classes are held twice a week during the evening and cater not only to professionals looking to break into the field, but also to Xavier students and faculty.
“The goal of Revved is to help supply growing businesses and startups in Cincinnati with the talented individuals that are in high demand,” says Michael Bergman, one of the organizers of the program and founder and CEO of his own business, REPP. “We want these individuals to strengthen their skills sets to make themselves and their organizations succeed in the new digital economy.”
In addition to Bergman, Revved was organized by Charlie Key, of local startup
Modulus, and Adam Daniel, also of REPP. The three entrepreneurs reached out to
Sean Rhiney, Director of the
James and Delrose Eigel Center for Community-Engaged Learning at Xavier to make the program come to life. David Mengel, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, also came on board to manage the program.
Revved not only gives the participants valuable skills, but it also emphasizes project-based learning so students have real-world exposure, provides direct access to the leaders of the local startup community and therefore valuable networking opportunities, and provides an avenue for local professionals to give back to the Cincinnati community.
“What this is really about is creating a framework,” Bergman says. “We depend on community professionals who want to share their knowledge and skill set.”
Thus far, instructors for the courses have come from an array of local small businesses geared toward the digital realm. The first course was held in the summer of 2013, with the second starting this week. The next courses will begin in January of 2014 and will be taught by professionals at
Ample and
Epipheo.
To learn more about the program, visit the
Revved website. If you're interested in teaching, email
[email protected].
By Mike Sarason
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