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hiring partners to make sure they are teaching the skills companies are seeking. Franconi said that the classes are then structured with the end objective in mind and build a streamlined curriculum that will help students meet goals much more quickly. The hands-on approach is based on the philosophy, “I as the instructor do, we as the class do, and then you as the individual do.”

Full time programs at General Assembly are an investment in education. A 10 week-course runs just under $14,000, but includes special attention to job placement upon graduation. General Assembly is the first company of its kind to go to a Big Four accounting firm and have results independently audited and verified. The organization has a 99 percent placement rate within 180 days of graduation. Here in Atlanta, they have seen more accelerated results with a 90 percent placement rate within 120 days.

Corey Landers, a User Experience Design student, is making a career change from an advertising brand strategist to UX designer. After attending an info session at General Assembly, he found the UXD course to be much more fitting for his goals than getting a master’s degree from Georgia Tech. He is now applying his advertising background to analyzing business goals from a user’s perspective-without having to learn as much coding as he originally thought.

“UX is about research and being strategic with prioritizing different features. When building an app, the first thing of doing is code and development, but it is more important to first consider how it will be user friendly,” Landers said.

Free information sessions and workshops at General Assembly are the best way to get a feel for the kind of opportunities the company offers. For more information, visit generalassemb.ly.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the CEOs of 10 of Atlanta’s leading corporations recently announced the launch of Engage, a mentorship-driven accelerator program and venture fund.

The Atlanta-based Engage accelerator is open to startups across the country, with a focus placed on mentoring and market access strategies. Applications will be available in early 2017, with programming scheduled to begin in the spring. Up to 48 startups could go through the program in the first three years.

The founding companies contributing capital, expertise, time and resources in support of Engage include AT&T, Chick-fil-A, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Georgia-Pacific, Georgia Power, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Invesco Ltd., The Home Depot and UPS. Executives from these firms will serve as mentors to the companies receiving financial support from Engage.

Reed proposed the fund following his 2013 visit to Silicon Valley, where he met with venture capital funders and tech sector entrepreneurs.

“Atlanta is the Southeast’s technology, innovation and entrepreneurship capital, with the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country,” said Reed. “We must take advantage of these unique assets to further stimulate our growing ecosystem of start-ups and growth-stage companies, connecting them to capital, talent and mentorship. This new venture fund and accelerator program will offer an unmatched opportunity for entrepreneurs in Atlanta and the region, and I am confident its success will lead to greater interest and investment in our emerging technology companies.”

The 10 corporations have committed a total of $15 million to the venture fund and will actively support the accelerator through mentoring, education and collaboration. Engage will offer programming and other services through its affiliation with the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), which was established at Georgia Tech by the state of Georgia in 1980 to launch and build technology companies.

Following the trip to Silicon Valley, Reed asked for the support of the Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP), a coalition of leading CEOs and university presidents which supports important mayoral initiatives. The ACP focuses on critical issues facing the city, and one of its key priorities is furthering Atlanta’s development as a leading technology hub with increased access to funding for startups in the area. In addition to getting direct support from the founding companies, Engage entrepreneurs will be connected to more than 30 companies that are ACP members.

For more information about Engage, visit engage.vc.