Since opening the Grand Rapids campus in 2017, the Grand Circus team has been focused on talent development for local employers: providing students with the technical and soft skills that West Michigan employers need to effectively grow their businesses.
At the same time we are always looking for opportunities to support and partner with organizations that provides technology, mentoring and connections to West Michigan’s startup ecosystem.
In the fall of 2018, we began discussing the potential to partner on a pilot program with an amazing organization that also shares space with us at Start Garden: Seamless IoT.
Seamless IoT is a consortium of enterprise partners and scouts around the world that looks to identify entrepreneurs working on cross-sector innovations and then connecting and providing access to a greater ecosystem of innovation.
“As we continue to fuel West Michigan’s tech pipeline, we need partners like Seamless and Start Garden to connect our graduates to area employers,” said Damien Rocchi, CEO of Grand Circus.
The partnership idea was simple:
Seamless has a very entrepreneurial and innovation driven organization with multiple enterprise partners working on technical solutions to real world problems.
Grand Circus has a cohort of smart, curious, tenacious students learning not only how to code but also exploring the breadth of careers in tech.
It became a clear collaboration to partner and provide Grand Circus bootcamp students exposure to real-world innovation on coding projects currently being worked on in Grand Rapids. As a result, Seamless could help mentor and observe the next generation of talented Junior Developers- and perhaps get new, diverse insights from their projects.
The end result is our April 2019 C# .NET Bootcamp, in partnership with Seamless IoT.
“This partnership builds local knowledge and technical capacity critical to supporting our activities and making West Michigan a leader in innovation,” said Mike Morin, Director of Seamless IoT.
Through the partnership, students will receive training in C# .NET and soft skills. In addition, students will be provided with invaluable experience in next-generation innovation and an introduction to companies at the forefront of bringing global innovative solutions to Grand Rapids. Students will demonstrate projects at Demo Day and be provided interviews with the Seamless consortium members such as Priority Health, Amway, Steelcase, Whirlpool, Faurecia, BISSELL and Mercy Health.
This new partnership aligns perfectly with the Grand Circus mission. We believe anyone can earn a career in tech. We also exist to serve our employer network and help them source the talent they need to grow their organizations. Partnering with Seamless IoT will give students a unique experience that will only help them on their career journey into tech.
Let’s roll. Apply by March 1 for a $1,000 discount on tuition.