Anthony Cortes did not use many words when asked how Extron Electronics invests in the next generation of AV and IT professionals.
“We value training for the industry.”
That short answer actually covers a lot of ground.
Cortes, representing Extron as a sponsor of the HETMA Golf Classic, said programs like the PRISM Scholarship are important because they help get young people excited about AV. His advice to someone just entering AV, IT, or higher education technology was equally straightforward: “Get as much training as you can regardless of manufacturer.”
That last part may say as much about Extron’s approach as anything else. Training has been a significant part of the company’s relationship with the AV industry for decades, and much of it is built around giving people the opportunity to get their hands on technology, ask questions, and understand what is happening behind the equipment they support.
Making Training Accessible
The Extron Institute dates back to 1994 and today offers instructor-led, online, self-paced, and hands-on learning opportunities covering everything from foundational AV concepts to audio, control, AV over IP, streaming, and programming. Training is offered through Extron locations around the world, and the company’s certification programs provide deeper paths for professionals who want to demonstrate proficiency in specific technologies. Extron
For higher education professionals specifically, Extron has also taken that training on the road. Its Extron Institute On the Road for Higher Education is a free, one-day program for college and university instructional technology professionals, with a mix of instruction, demonstrations, and hands-on work focused on spaces such as classrooms, lecture halls, collaboration environments, and meeting spaces.
There is value in that approach beyond learning how to configure a particular product. Campus AV teams are being asked to understand networking, audio, control, security, programming, and an expanding list of technologies that increasingly overlap with traditional IT. Having places where professionals can experiment, make mistakes, ask questions, and work through systems before returning to their campuses helps build the people who will ultimately support those environments.
Bringing Higher Ed Into the Conversation
Extron’s investment in education also includes something that is harder to put into an online course: bringing higher ed professionals together.
The company’s Education Summits invite campus technology professionals to spend time with Extron staff and one another, combining technical education with conversations about the challenges institutions are facing in actual learning spaces. Just as important is connection higher ed professionals to compare notes with peers facing many of the same problems at their own institutions.
Extron also invites higher education professionals into its Technical Advisory Council, creating an opportunity for practitioners to provide direct feedback and discuss where classroom and AV technology needs to go next. Some of those conversations understandably happen behind closed doors and under NDA, but the larger idea matters: the people operating these systems every day get an opportunity to be part of the conversation about what comes next.
That is a different kind of professional development. Attendees get an early look at technology and engineering thinking, while Extron gets to hear directly from the people dealing with faculty expectations, support constraints, standardization, aging infrastructure, staffing, and the realities of deploying technology across a campus.
Developing People on the Inside, Too
That emphasis on development extends inside the company.
Cortes pointed to mentoring from Extron founder and chairman Andrew Edwards as an early investment in his own career that continues to influence him today. Extron’s supports internships and full-time opportunities for students and recent graduates that include mentoring and on-the-job training alongside experienced professionals. For employees more broadly, the company lists technology and product training as well as tuition reimbursement for coursework at accredited schools among its development benefits.
Extron also continues to support learning within educational institutions through its education programs, including design assistance, evaluation equipment, training and certification resources, and classroom technology grants. Its current grant program reports more than $25 million in equipment and software provided to more than 1,800 classrooms, with training and support included with awarded systems.
For the HETMA Golf Classic and PRISM Scholarship, the connection is a fairly natural one. Scholarships can help someone get an opportunity. Training, mentoring, professional relationships, and a chance to have a voice in the industry help determine what happens after that opportunity arrives.
And perhaps that brings it back to Cortes’ advice for someone starting out: get as much training as you can, regardless of whose name is on the equipment.
