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William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation

Technology Infrastructure Lab

The Technology Infrastructure Lab is constantly analyzing new technologies to see where benefits can be realized in the State. By working across multiple organizations including K-12, community colleges, universities, nonprofits, and the State’s Department of Information Technology, the team has a bird’s eye view of many initiatives and can often identify opportunities for collaboration and economies of scale. The TIL is a data-driven organization that mixes staff members with backgrounds in computer engineering, business, education, public policy and analytics. Combined, these skill sets produce solutions that attack problems from various angles with a wide aperture.

K-12 Cybersecurity Program

This program encompasses a multidimensional approach to safeguarding PSUs across North Carolina and their stakeholders from cyber threats and attacks. The Friday Institute plays an instrumental part in the protection, detection and responses for K-12 institutions across North Carolina. We are directly involved in eight distinct work streams that collectively create and support a robust defense against cyber risks, including overall program management engagement and support, cybersecurity awareness, skills training, vulnerability management, asset discovery and identification, incident response, cybersecurity consulting, and identity and access management.

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Ipads in a storage box
A student returns a tablet computer to a charging cabinet.

100% of districts in North Carolina 
have unlimited broadband access in classrooms with the help of the Technology Infrastructure Lab.

NC School Connectivity Initiative

The School Connectivity Initiative was the culmination of several years of vision surrounding the 21st century classroom and developing a North Carolina workforce poised to meet the challenge of a global economy.

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broadband equipment set up outside on a poll over a farmland
A student returns a tablet computer to a charging cabinet.

NEWS

August 11, 2025

College of Education Graduate Students Gain Hands-on Research Experience with Faculty, Staff through Summer Research Experience Program

Doctoral students in the NC State College of Education had a unique opportunity to work alongside faculty and researchers in the college, including the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, through the Summer Research Experience program.

May 22, 2025

NCDPI, Friday Institute, MCNC Highlight Scope of No-Cost Cybersecurity Resources and Services for the First Time During NCDPI K-12 Cybersecurity Bootcamp

The same day IT professionals across the state convened for a Public School Unit (PSU) Cybersecurity Bootcamp, North Carolina schools’ student data was under threat, with potential connections to last…

March 25, 2025

Friday Institute Joins Connect Everyone Coalition to Bridge Digital Divide

The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation has joined the Connect Everyone Coalition (CEC), a group of leaders committed to educating the public and policymakers on the important role of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity and how this technology can bridge the digital divide.

Reports and Resources

A line chart highlights peak utilization per student vs. enrollment. The x axis shows the enrollment in log scale. The y axis shows the peak utilization per student in kbps. The key shows both urban and rural schools as well as contracted bandwidth. The graph displays that the higher utilization tends to happen in rural schools.

School Connectivity Initiative Legislative Update (2021-2022)

The North Carolina School Connectivity Initiative (SCI) provides sufficient and reliable internet access to every public school classroom across the state. North Carolina has been building this program for 16 years and is recognized as a national leader in providing equitable connectivity for public schools. The Technology Infrastructure Lab recently released this report that highlighted SCI’s program performance and recommendations.

Read the report
A rainbow colored graph illustrating the upward and growing trend of NC K-12 aggregate bandwidth data. Data for contracted bandwith is shown in gigabits per second.

NC School Connectivity Analysis

All North Carolina students receive ample high-quality internet access at school. Our Technology Infrastructure Lab analyzed internet usage of all 115 school districts and over 100 charter schools in the state.

View the interactive dashboard
broadband equipment set up outside on a poll over a farmland

North Carolina Rural Student Home Internet Access Pilot Program

The Technology Infrastructure Lab had a lead role in a pilot program to test emerging wireless technologies, funded by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s Broadband Infrastructure Office, to address the homework gap in North Carolina.

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Partners We Have Proudly Worked With

Ray Zeisz

Senior Director

Michael Babb

Business Intelligence Spec

Samuel Carter

Systems Architect

919-513-8514
Amir Lawrence

Cybersecurity Analyst

Taylor Mannion

Graduate Student Researcher, AI

Ryan McPhee

Graduate Student