There is a big difference between knowing how to configure something and understanding why it works.
That distinction becomes increasingly important as AV systems cross into networking, software, control, IT infrastructure, acoustics, and a growing number of other disciplines. Products will change. Interfaces will change. The underlying knowledge people build along the way has a much longer shelf life.
Michael Hooper of Biamp sees that foundational knowledge as an important part of developing the next generation of AV professionals.
Hooper said he supports programs that promote “a real foundational understanding of the science that drives our technology.” That philosophy is also reflected in Biamp’s investment in free audio education and CTS renewal opportunities, its support of higher education AV/IT organizations and conferences, and Biamp employees who regularly participate as speakers and educators at industry events.
That philosophy provides a useful way to look at what Biamp is doing both inside and outside the traditional training room.
More Than Learning a Product
Biamp has long made training available to AV professionals, and its current education program is organized around the actual roles people perform.
Rather than presenting one long sequence of courses, Biamp’s training platform includes learning paths for roles such as designer, technician, field engineer, and solutions advisor. The material progresses from foundational skills into areas such as system design, installation, programming, commissioning, integration, and troubleshooting. Courses can also qualify for continuing education through AVIXA and BICSI.
That is particularly relevant in higher education, where job descriptions rarely tell the whole story. The person who primarily supported classroom audio a few years ago may now be troubleshooting Dante, working with network teams, commissioning DSPs, supporting conferencing systems, and trying to understand why something that worked yesterday stopped working five minutes before class.
Having access to training is useful. Having training that helps someone understand the problem they are trying to solve is considerably more valuable.
Biamp also offers live webinars for beginners and experienced technicians, delivered across multiple time zones and languages. Recordings remain available afterward, and participants can follow up with Biamp’s Applications Engineering team with questions or design challenges.
For someone trying to develop AV skills while also doing their regular job, those different ways into the material matter.
Bringing Higher Ed Into the Room
Biamp is also creating opportunities specifically for higher education professionals to learn together.
Hooper says the company is planning a Biamp Higher Education Summit for April 20–22 at its Oregon headquarters. The planned event includes hands-on training and a roundtable with Biamp product management, along with opportunities for higher ed professionals to spend time together away from the formal sessions. Space is expected to be limited.
That product-management conversation may be just as important as the training.
Campus AV professionals spend every day discovering the difference between how a system is expected to operate and what happens when faculty, students, support staff, networks, policies, and hundreds of rooms get involved. Giving those practitioners a chance to talk directly with the people developing technology creates a two-way learning opportunity.
Higher ed gets to better understand where the technology is headed. Manufacturers get to hear what actually happens after the boxes leave the warehouse.
Reaching People Before They Have an AV Career
Biamp’s investment in developing people also extends considerably earlier than professional certification.
Just this month, the company announced its 2026 Charitable Giving Grant Program recipients, five organizations working with young people through music, media, audio engineering, and live production. The programs give underserved youth hands-on experience with everything from microphones and digital mixing to recording, broadcast media, live sound, and event production.
That includes Youth Music Project, which offers sound engineering and production education; Art & Drama Centre Theatre, where students receive hands-on instruction in live sound, acoustics, microphones, and mixing; Ethos Music Center, which provides experience with audiovisual technology and broadcast media; and other organizations using music and production as an entry point for young people who might otherwise never know there is an AV industry waiting for them.
That might be one of the most direct connections to the purpose behind the HETMA Golf Classic and PRISM Scholarship.
The industry cannot wait until someone is already applying for an AV job to start developing the next generation. Sometimes the first step is simply letting a student discover that audio engineering, live production, classroom technology, or AV design is something they could actually make a career doing.
Keep Learning, and Keep Asking Questions
The same investment continues inside Biamp. Employees have access to higher education tuition reimbursement, and the company has described professional, technical, and leadership development as part of its approach to helping employees continue growing in their careers.
All of that circles back to Hooper’s advice for someone beginning a career in AV, IT, or higher education technology:
“Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.”
There is actually a pretty good lesson packed into those five words.
Take the training. Learn the products. Earn the certifications. Listen to people with more experience. But also understand the fundamentals, ask why something works, and be willing to question whether the solution in front of you is really the right one.
Through free industry training, opportunities for higher ed professionals to learn and provide feedback, employee development, and programs introducing young people to audio and AV, Biamp is helping create more places for that kind of learning to happen.
And supporting the HETMA Golf Classic and PRISM Scholarship adds one more.
