CNM Ingenuity’s Deep Dive Coding Wins Prestigious Statewide STEM Award
The Air Force Research Lab New Mexico Tech Engagement Lab selected CNM Ingenuity’s Deep Dive Coding program as its 2020 Higher Ed Program of the Year for the NM Excellence in STEM Awards, aka the STEMYS.
The annual awards honor K-12, higher education programs, business groups and community advocates who are excelling in science, technology, engineering and math education.
“This year’s STEMY winners are an impressive group of individuals and organizations who are doing amazing work to expand STEM capacity in New Mexico,” Matt Fetrow, Director of the AFRL Tech Engagement Office said. “The STEMYS give us an opportunity to highlight that important work and to celebrate it as a state.”
“This is a great opportunity for our incredible instructors, students, and alumni to be recognized for all their hard work,” says Andrea Sisneros Wichman, the Deep Dive Coding director.
CNM Ingenuity acquired Deep Dive Coding in 2014 and has grown it into a highly successful program for both students and the local economy. Students complete the immersive, 10- to 12-week programs with the coding and tech skills they need to immediately gain high-quality employment or start their own businesses in fields that are key to economic development in New Mexico.
Sue Anne Athens, CIO of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, nominated Deep Dive for the award.
Deep Dive Coding has grown from one bootcamp in 2014, Full-stack Web Development, to currently five different bootcamps—including Digital Media, Data Science, Internet of Things, and Java+Android. There will soon be a sixth. A UX / UI bootcamp this summer in partnership with the United Way of Central New Mexico Family Advocacy Center.
“We are so honored that Deep Dive Coding has been named 2020 Higher Ed Program of the Year for the NM Excellence in STEM Awards,” said Kyle Lee, CEO of CNM Ingenuity, Inc. “Deep Dive has led to life-changing experiences for very diverse students and we’ve been able to fill key workforce gaps in our local economy that strengthen our community’s future. We have six different pathways in Deep Dive Coding that are accessible to anyone with a passion for learning and a desire to be a difference-maker in our New Mexico economy.”
So far, Deep Dive has graduated nearly 600 students, 87 percent of which have gone on to achieve their professional goals within six months. After completing the 10- or 12-week bootcamps, the average salary for a Deep Dive graduate is nearly $45,000, and over the past five years Deep Dive graduates have earned an estimated $44 million in total wages. There are currently 17 operating businesses that Deep Dive grads own or helped found.
“I’m really proud of the reputation that our alumni have in the community,” Andrea says. “They do great work and I’m glad they’re being recognized.”
In 2019, Albuquerque Economic Development selected Deep Dive Coding as the winner of its Excellence in Workforce Development Award.
Learn more about all of the Deep Dive Coding programs. More Deep Dive bootcamps are starting soon.