Technology Training for Non-Traditionals
TNTs is back for 2025
Technology Training for Non-Traditionals (TNTs) is back for 2025. It is a program that aims to increase participation from individuals across various education and experience backgrounds to become part of or add skills to the cyberinfrastructure (CI) workforce. The program includes awareness of CI job opportunities, mentoring, hands-on experience with advanced networks and systems, and leveraging a broad community of supportive alumni to prepare students for careers in CI.
Specifically, participants will benefit from: Hands-on training before and during the Supercomputing (SC) Conference Series, and its annual global networking collaboration, SCinet. During the SC conference, SCinet is the most powerful and advanced computer network on Earth, and it is designed, built, and administered by up to 200 community volunteers from industry, academia, and the government.
SCinet provides a cutting-edge testbed used by attendees and offers valuable training and career opportunities to the volunteer staff through collaborative opportunities to work in an environment far beyond what most educational institutions can offer. Technical training in topics like systems programming, information security, storage administration, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and other emerging technology Soft skills training to enhance or improve in areas like responsibility, communication, and networking, to name a few Collaboration, including working in the following teams: Contributor Relations, DevOps, Edge Network, Fiber, Fiber, Help Desk, Interconnect, Logistic/Equipment, Network Security, Power, Routing, WAN Transport, Wireless Networking.
This is an in person activity that will require partcipatnts to be on site in St Louis, MO in October and November of 2025. Most parciaptants will spend on average of 14 days over both times including weekends.
Estimated Dates on site:
October 24-28, 2025
November 10-21, 2025
Travel support (airfare and hotel) and registration to SC will be provided.
A stipend will also be provided.
Eligibility
To be eligible, participants must:
- Be at least 18 years of age at the start of the program.
- Have an interest in entering or enhancing the CI workforce
- Commit to participating in the year-long training activities, mentoring, and travel (see requirements below).
- If already in a CI job less than 5 years experience in that job.
Participants selected for the program must:
- Attend a 60-min virtual Orientation
- Complete the TNT Student Agreement Forms
- If currently employed, provide an employment approval letter (provided by TNT) authorizing travel to St Louis, MO in October and November 2025
- Complete a pre and post-survey Participate in all training activities
- Travel to St Louis, MO twice in 2025: 5 days in October and 5-10 days in November
- Pick and attend a conference of your choosing
Timeline and Time Commitment:
- Now: Orientation, training, and mentoring
- Training and Mentoring: 4-5 hrs per month (all virtual)
- October: Staging, Oct 25 to Friday, Nov 1, initial set-up of equipment at SC25 in St Louis, MO (5 days).
- November: Show, Nov 9 to Nov 21: Travel, set-up, and participation at SC25 in St Louis, MO (5-10 days)
- January – June: Continued engagement with mentor(s) and training: (2 hrs per month)
- January – June: Attend a conference of your choosing