TechCon 2024: TD Bank grows partnership with NSU

By Nicole Shaker •

TD Bank hosted its annual technology conference TechCon for the first time in South Florida at the Alan B. Levan | NSU Broward Center of Innovation on Jan. 30. This is the only TD TechCon that has invited college students.

Ninety one NSU students attended, taking advantage of the unique opportunity. Attendees listened to tech-centered talks by TD executives, participated in workshops and discussed technology trends and innovations.

“TechCon is a good opportunity for jobs and different coding experiences that could build up on my resume,” said Joshua Listrom, sophomore information technology major.

TD hosts the conference to encourage learning and career exploration. It featured many stands from TD vendors, including GitHub, Slack, IBM and Dell.

Faris Allaf, sophomore computer science major, said he gained career insight.

“I learned more about what’s going on with the bigger companies and how internships are going to look from a more realistic standpoint,” he said.

This event is usually only meant for TD employees.

Kate Gittleman, NSU director of STEM initiatives and outreach, said the bank did all the planning. It was her job to get the students there.

“It’s their event,” she said. “And they just said, ‘Hey, we’re having this amazing event. We want to continue to build our partnership with NSU, their students and the Levan Center. We’re only going to open it to you.’”

TD’s relationship with the Levan Center, located on the fifth floor of the Alvin Sherman Library, began in 2022 when the company established an office and hub there. The Levan Center, a partnership between NSU and Broward County, is a 54,000-square-foot innovation center with the primary goal of assisting startups with their growth.

Jaap Donath, assistant executive director of programs at the Levan Center, said the tech hub is a “one-stop shop for entrepreneurs” and focuses on innovation.

“The idea is that entrepreneurs try to solve a major problem, use the technology, and then build a company from it,” he said.

Startups and big companies alike have begun forming relationships with the Levan Center in search of innovative solutions and fresh talent. TD established itself there partly to explore vendors in South Florida, an area where banking hubs are not as common, according to John Lopez, TD senior manager for information security.

At the event, TD employees were happy to connect with students.

Justin Hayes, TD senior information security analyst, said, “We met a lot of students who expressed a lot of interest in what we do, which is heartening.”

One of the TD vendors present was Protiviti, a global consulting firm that works with a large chunk of the Fortune 500, which are the 500 largest companies, according to Fortune magazine.

Mary Cosgrove, associate director within tech risk and resilience at Protiviti, was glad to introduce students to different career areas.

“Being at TechCon has been a great opportunity to meet some of our TD Bank partners and also to connect with students and let them know a little bit more about consulting and a little bit more about how their education can really set them up for success at a consulting firm,” Cosgrove said.

Lopez enjoyed seeing TD and its vendors getting involved with NSU.

“It’s good to see that a lot of these Fortune 500 companies are immersing themselves on the campuses,” Lopez said. “It’s nice for the students here to get that opportunity.”

Christiaan Veerman, AVP of engineering and head of developer experience at TD, said TD is looking to deepen its relationship with NSU. He said he will be communicating with NSU_eHACKERs and ACM, student organizations focused on cybersecurity and coding.

Gittleman is also hoping to continue collaborating with TD, tapping into areas that go beyond just recruitment. She said she’ll be meeting with TD representatives within the next couple of weeks to begin planning more opportunities for NSU students.

“One of the things we try to provide is hands-on experience, whether it’s a hackathon, simulation or capstone project idea,” she said. “But we can get really creative sometimes and figure out ways to provide experiences.”