Tips for Recruiting and Hosting ICT Professional  

ICT professionals are an important and integral part of the ICT4me curriculum. Below is an overview of how and where to recruit professionals and tips for engaging with the ICT professional before, during, and after the session she attends. In addition, each unit includes a summary of the types of ICT professionals to contact.

Finding ICT professionals requires networking with the ICT industry. Don't worry. You probably already have connections! First, make a list of local organizations that you know develop software, hardware, networks, and/or Internet-based products [Examples of ICT professionals (.pdf, 55 KB)]. Take a look at your funder and board member lists. Think globally as well. You might be surprised how many large organizations such as Intel, Adobe, or Google may have local offices near you.

The best contact is someone you know at one of these organizations. Check with your colleagues for whom they know. The human resource departments at these organizations can also be very helpful. They often already have a format for offering field trips. An introductory email followed up by a phone call usually has a positive result. Most companies are eager to give back to the community and find ICT visits and field trips a relatively painless way to do so.

Another great resource is your local college or university. Often, they will have a women or minorities in engineering or the computer science department or a group within engineering, technology or computer science department focused on encouraging women and minorities in these fields. Check online and give them a call. Higher education is working to attract more women and minorities to these fields so they are very supportive of efforts like ICT4me. Women and minorities in these groups can be ICT professionals themselves and host great field trips. Equally important: they are well connected to ICT organizations in your community. They can lead you to other ICT professionals!

There are two kinds of ICT professional interactions. You may host the ICT professionals at your site or you may take a field trip to the ICT professional's work place. The tips below fit both situations. To download the ICT Professional Planner information, click here.

Before the visit

During the visit

• Introduce the ICT Professional.
• Facilitate the activity with the ICT professional (if necessary).

After the visit

• Send the ICT professional a thank you note (by email) from you and the youth.
• Invite the ICT professional to your Family Tech Nights.

ICT Professionals Packet

See the ICT Professional Visit Packet (.pdf, 113 KB) and the ICT Professional Field Trip Packet (.pdf, 111 KB) for the information to share with ICT professionals to prepare for engaging with the youth.