Need to beef up your knowledge of network security, XML, or embedded Linux? Is the inconvenience and cost of going back to school holding you back? Taking those courses may now be a little easier, thanks to a recent partnership between the IEEE and TrainingCity.

A provider of training courses for information technology professionals, TrainingCity, based in Kanata, Ont., Canada, offers “hands-on” instruction in laboratories led by registered professional engineers, many of whom are IEEE members. And members get a 10 percent discount on course fees.

MAKING TIME “The courses are meant primarily for practicing engineers who find their time limited by busy careers,” says Marilyn Catis, new product development manager for IEEE Educational Activities in Piscataway, N.J. “They’re great for engineers and programmers who want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends.”

Some 30 courses are being offered, each requiring anywhere from two hours to four days (at 2 to 3 hours per day) to complete. Classes are taught at centers set up by TrainingCity in more than 20 cities throughout North America, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. There are also training centers in London and Singapore.

Students can choose to take courses via a virtual classroom, which includes everything in the real classrooms except the free coffee and doughnuts. Virtual classes are scheduled for all major time zones and available anywhere there’s high-speed Internet access.

SMALL CLASSES Each virtual class can accommodate up to six students, who interact with their teachers and classmates through Web conferencing software and access to central laboratory computers. The online class sizes are kept small so students can maintain a close relationship with their instructors. So students can participate in the hands-on aspects of the course, TrainingCity ships them “suitcase labs,” which contain the equipment and software they’ll need.

For more information or to enroll in one of the courses, visit http://www.trainingcity.com/IEEE_Partnership.htm. To see a list of other organizations the IEEE is partnered with, visit http://www.ieee.org/web/education/partners/eduPartners.html.