The General Services Administration (GSA) is hosting a webinar to discuss the contract consolidation requirements under Executive Order 14240: Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement and GSA’s deviations under the initiative to overhaul the Federal Acquisition Regulation under Executive Order 14275: Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement.

The webinar will be Wednesday, May 28, 2025 from 1:00 - 2:45 p.m. EDT. To register, click on the Zoom link below.

Register now for our next LIFT Off Webinar "Improving Quality and Vision Systems with AI Software" presented by Kevin Kerwin of Detect-It AI Software!

Are outdated quality control systems holding your production back? Join us for an exclusive webinar that explores how Detect-It AI is transforming manufacturing through smarter, faster, and more accessible visual inspection.

See what you see—only smarter.

With Detect-It AI, anyone can build and deploy powerful neural networks to inspect, monitor, and verify what the human eye might miss. No coding experience? No problem. If you can see it, you can train AI to see it too—in minutes, not months.

🔍 Learning Objectives
✅Why improving quality and vision systems is critical in today's manufacturing environment
✅The challenges manufacturers face with human error and manual inspections
✅How Detect-It AI empowers any user to build coder-free neural nets
✅A behind-the-scenes look at Detect-It's architecture, real-world customer use cases, and industry awards
✅How mistakes on the line are costing manufacturers - and how AI can prevent them

💡 Humans make mistakes. AI doesn’t have to.
Mistakes cost manufacturers time, money, and reputation. Detect-It gives you the tools to take control of your quality assurance like never before—with the precision and consistency of AI.

Register now and discover how you can build your own AI vision system without writing a single line of code!

REGISTER HERE

Join us on May 7 for the Manufacturing Workforce Summit, a free one-day conference that explores solutions to two of our most persistent industry challenges: Growing and maintaining a skilled workforce and a supply chain that can meet the increasing demands of the Defense industry.

This conference offers manufacturers—regardless of your focus—the chance to connect with peers, community partners, educational professionals, and subject matter experts to discover ways to advance your business.

Attendees will:

• Learn best practices for talent development and what the region is doing to grow the pipeline of skilled workers

• Understand the needs of the military-connected community to identify potential growth strategies for your business

• Participate in coordinated matchmaking between prime contractors and manufacturers to unlock business opportunities

• Network to develop potential partnerships and find new ways to attract workers

This event will take place at NextCorps. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/manufacturing-workforce-summit-tickets-1302643554939

Event Agenda:

8:00 AM to 8:30 AM – Registration and Breakfast

8:30 AM to 8:45 AM - Welcome

8:45 AM to 9:15 AM - Overview of U.S. Navy Maritime Industrial Base (MIB) Mission

• Josh Cramer - BlueForge Alliance - Workforce Development

9:15 AM - 10:00 AM – Best Practices in Workforce Development

• Rich Turner - RTMA - Moderator

• Christina Pierce - Mersen - Apprenticeships

• Ale Mendoza - Optimax - Quality Jobs Toolkit

• Tyrone Reaves - YAMTEP - Reducing Barriers to Work (Transportation)

10:00 AM to 10:15 AM - BREAK & Networking

10:15 AM to 11:00 AM – Partnerships Driving Regional Workforce Development

• Mike Marvin and Kathleen Martin – NextCorps Moderators

• Make It Panelists - (Speakers to be announced)

• Dave Seeley - Rochester Works - Workforce Overview

11:00 AM to 11:45 AM – Supplier Opportunities for the US Navy Maritime Industrial Base

11:45 AM to 12:45 PM – LUNCH & Networking

12:45 PM to 1:30 PM – Navigating the Region’s Supply Base

• Anna Vulaj Fitzsimmons, Monroe County/Finger Lakes Apex Accelerator

1:30 PM to 2:15 PM – Building a Nationwide Network of Suppliers and Workers for our Military’s Technology Future

• Beth Deuermeyer – BlueForge Alliance

2:15 PM to 2:30 PM - BREAK & Networking

2:30 PM to 3:15 PM – Opportunities for Workforce Development Funding, Collaboration, and Growth

• Monroe 2 BOCES - Center for Workforce Development

• Monroe County Economic Development

• U.S. Small Business Administration - Buffalo District

3:30 PM – Event concludes

This is your front-row seat to how DARPA leaders think, fund, and move cutting-edge capabilities into operational use—and how you can be part of that pipeline.

Hear directly from:

• Sha-Chelle Manning, Chief, Commercial Strategy Office

• Jennifer Thabet, Program Director, Small Business Programs Office

• Benjamin “Bach” Bishop, Acting Director, Adaptive Capabilities Office

• Robert Gerbracht, USMC Operational Liaison

• Tejas Patel, Program Manager, Information Innovation Office (I2O)

Date: April 30, 2025

Time: 2:00-3:00 pm ET

Registration: https://learning.theari.us/products/accelerating-impact-darpas-approach-to-transition-and-commercialization-430#tab-product_tab_overview

Please note: You must be logged in to your DARPAConnect account to register.

Join us for the first of many official discussions on the DoD CIO’s CMMC Program.  We will take you through the CMMC program requirements at the “101” level where you will gain an understanding of how CMMC will affect DoD acquisitions. This series will include speakers from the DoD CMMC Program Management Office, which will be your guide.   

Date: April 16, 2025

Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (Eastern) | 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. (Pacific)

CLPs: 1

Who Should Attend: Ideal for any professional with responsibilities for cybersecurity.

Contact Information: For Registration of technical questions, please contact us at events@dau.edu 

DoD Cyber Solutions: 

This is a series of webinars to bring the Acquisition Workforce up-to-speed on all the cybersecurity requirements in federal contracts and how to evaluate those contractual requirements. In the DoD alone, there are some 120K small business contractors and 70% of those contractors have less than 30 employees. This webinar series will educate contracting communities, project managers, and contractors on the resources available to create robust cybersecurity.

Register here

Overview:

Understanding a potential customer’s problem and how your product or service will solve it is vitally important in any market, even more so with the Department of Defense (DoD).  Other than running out of money, the biggest reason for small business failure is not having done the homework to fully comprehend and address the user’s needs.  At this Collider, we will look at the key factors needed to successfully research and determine the viability of a new opportunity.  This will include a focus on where to find military requirements and how to create a DoD-specific business model that will maximize the chance of winning contracts.  Learn about the real meaning of “selling” and the best proven approaches to making an effective sales pitch.

Agenda (All time are EST)

·         1230-1240        Welcome Remarks – Jeff Mellott, HQ AFMC/SB

·         1240-1300        Introduction – Billy Grill, Ohio APEX Accelerator

·         1300-1400        Opportunity Validation – Sally Kay, Strategic Management

·         1400-1500        Penetrating the Defense Market – Dr. Jeffrey Decker, Stanford University

·         1500-1510        Break

·         1510-1610        Characteristics of an Effective Sales Call – Dr. Pete Kay, Strategic Management

·         1610-1620        Closing Remarks – Jeff Mellott, HQ AFMC/SB

Additional Information: There will be an optional networking event after the Collider if you would like to network with attendees after the Collider

Registration: https://afrlsbhub.com/event/collider-opportunity-validation-know-your-defense-market-make-a-sale/

Click here to Register

PanelistS

Why attend?

Why attend?

• Learn about DoD component SBIR/STTR Programs.

• Gain an understanding of the evaluation processes.

• Engage with federal agency representatives.

• Leave with a better understanding of how to start your SBIR/STTR journey.

How to Prepare

Visit the Agency Resources page to access 1-Pagers that list topic areas; Reverse Pitch Slide Decks that provide details, stats, and contact information; and Reverse Pitch Videos where Program Managers pitch their programs to innovators.

The Director of the DC3 DIB CS program for DoD contracts which handle CUI will talk about the new, free services available to support DoD Contracts.  And then CISA, the national Cybersecurity and Security Infrastructure Agency, whose job it is to manage cyber risk for the nation – will talk about CISA’s free services to the US Critical Infrastructure, which includes DoD Contracts.  All in all – a wonderful presentation for contracting teams so you walk away understanding the plethora of cybersecurity sport to DoD acquisition.

Date: March 27, 2025

Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Eastern) | 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. (Pacific)

CLPs: 1.5

Who Should Attend: Ideal for any professional with responsibilities for cybersecurity.

Contact Information: For Registration of technical questions, please contact us at events@dau.edu 

DoD Cyber Solutions: This is a series of webinars to bring the Acquisition Workforce up-to-speed on all the cybersecurity requirements in federal contracts and how to evaluate those contractual requirements. In the DoD alone, there are some 120K small business contractors and 70% of those contractors have less than 30 employees. This webinar series will educate contracting communities, project managers, and contractors on the resources available to create robust cybersecurity.

Register here

Hear from Chief of DIB Defense at the NSA Cybersecurity Collaboration Center (CCC) about the ground-breaking free services to support DIB contracts.  A presentation by Bailey Bickley about the cutting-edge services offered by NSA to protect DoD data at the contactor and amazingly – at the subcontractor level.  Not to be missed!  Then, Professor Kelley Kiernan will go over the DFARS 252.204-7012 which outlines the expensive and sophisticated contract cybersecurity requirements for protecting DoD Controlled Unclassified Information and how it fits with CMMC.   

Date: March 24, 2025

Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Eastern) | 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. (Pacific)

CLPs: 1.5

Who Should Attend: Ideal for any professional with responsibilities for cybersecurity.

Contact Information: For Registration of technical questions, please contact us at events@dau.edu 

DoD Cyber Solutions: This is a series of webinars to bring the Acquisition Workforce up-to-speed on all the cybersecurity requirements in federal contracts and how to evaluate those contractual requirements. In the DoD alone, there are some 120K small business contractors and 70% of those contractors have less than 30 employees. This webinar series will educate contracting communities, project managers, and contractors on the resources available to create robust cybersecurity.

Register here

Supporting and sustaining the Defense Industrial Base - CMMC/NIST Compliance

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) – Level 1   

The U.S Department of Defense (DoD) has established a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) to protect information that the DoD shares with contractors and subcontractors. Over the last few years, the DoD recommended the implementation of a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). 

The Level 1 course topics will cover the following domains: 

• Structure of the CMMC model including the CMMC levels, domains, capabilities, processes, and practices. 

• CMMC assessment process and methodology, evidence documentation and the CMMC Code of Professional Conduct. 

• Requirements discussions for domains: Access Control (AC), Identification and Authentication (IA)

• Requirements discussions for domains: Media Protection (MP) Physical Protection (PE)

• Requirements discussions for domains: System and Communications Protection (SC), Systems and Information Integrity (SI)

• CMMC Level 1 Practice Test

Upon Successful completion of the CMMC Level 1 Practice Test and upon successful implementation of the compliance requirements, students may enroll for the Level 2 program. 

Click here for more information

Register here: Meeting Registration - Zoom