The TechEd Podcast

The TechEd Podcast sits at the intersection of technology, industry, innovation and the people who make progress possible. Hosted by Matt Kirchner, each episode features builders, executives, educators, and policymakers shaping what’s next—AI, automation, advanced manufacturing, energy, and the systems behind them. If you care about the future of work, the future of tech, and how talent actually gets built, you’re in the right place.

The TechEd Podcast is a technology podcast hosted by Matt Kirchner, with 287 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Matt Kirchner hosts The TechEd Podcast, a technology show with 287 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #286

  Cheese, Robots, and the Art of Inventing the Next Big Idea - Louie Gentine, CEO of Sargento Foods

  Sep 22, 202653 min

  Innovation doesn’t always look revolutionary. Sometimes it looks like putting shredded cheese in a bag. For more than 70 years, Sargento Foods has built a business around seeing possibilities in places others might overlook. From pioneering packaged shredded cheese and resealable packaging to spending a decade developing a new natural cheese, innovation at Sargento isn’t a one-time initiative. It’s a pipeline stretching years into the future. CEO Louie Gentine joins us to share the unlikely story behind the family business and how that same appetite for invention is shaping its future. We get into the mortician-machinist-entrepreneur who helped start it all, the consumer insights behind new products, and the automation transforming Sargento’s factories. Louie also explains why technology should make manufacturing jobs better, what he means by the “gamification of the factory floor,” and why employers and educators need to work together to prepare the next generation. In this episode, you’ll hear: The mortician-machinist who helped launch Sargento Why shredded cheese was once a big idea How Sargento builds a five-year innovation pipeline Robots, automation and the “gamification” of the factory floor Why tomorrow’s workforce needs technical skills and soft skills 3 Big Takeaways from this Episode: 1. The best innovations solve problems so well that eventually they seem obvious. Sargento was the first to put shredded cheese in a bag and the first perishable product to use resealable packaging, innovations that are now grocery-store standards. The common thread is understanding what consumers are doing, where their needs are headed and finding the opportunity others haven’t acted on yet. 2. Automation works best when it makes people’s jobs better. Sargento has invested heavily in robotics and automation to eliminate repetitive, physically demanding work, while committing to move employees into different roles rather than eliminate their jobs. As technology reshapes the plant, Louie sees manufacturing moving toward a more engaging, technology-driven, even “gamified” workplace. 3. A strong workforce needs technical skills and soft skills in equal measure. As manufacturing becomes more technical, employers need people who can build capabilities while still communicating, collaborating and holding themselves accountable. Louie stresses that education can’t prioritize one at the expense of the other: the workforce needs both. Resources in this Episode: Learn more about Sargento Foods Sargento's commitment to food, housing & education More links, resources & connect with our guest online through the show notes page: https://techedpodcast.com/gentine/ We want to hear from you! Send us a text. Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #285

  Why Are We Training STEM PhDs for Academia When Most Work in Industry? - Tony Boccanfuso, President & CEO of UIDP

  Sep 17, 202654 min

  The United States produces some of the best STEM researchers in the world. But there’s a structural mismatch in how many of them are trained: roughly two-thirds of STEM PhDs in fields like engineering ultimately work in industry, while doctoral programs remain largely designed around the academic research environment. In this episode, Tony Boccanfuso, President and CEO of UIDP, joins us to examine the disconnect between doctoral education and the careers most STEM PhDs actually pursue, why industry experience requires more than an internship, and how a shared-investment model could create another pathway for developing the scientists, researchers and innovators driving the U.S. economy. In this episode: Why most STEM PhDs leave academia, but doctoral training still prepares them to stay The skills even exceptional PhD researchers often have to learn on the job Why U.S. research is reaching an inflection point Inside the $90 million experiment putting PhD researchers inside industry A new funding model that gives universities, companies and government “skin in the game” What could make an industry-integrated PhD a competitive advantage for universities 3 Big Takeaways from this Episode: 1. The gap between doctoral education and industry isn’t technical expertise; it’s learning to conduct research within the realities of a business. Companies tell UIDP that PhD graduates are exceptionally well prepared technically, but many haven’t worked within multidisciplinary teams, fixed timelines, budgets or stage-gated R&D processes. In industry, even successful research can be discontinued because priorities, markets or economics change, requiring researchers to understand the commercial context surrounding their work. 2. Industry-integrated PhDs can add real-world experience without replacing the rigor or research depth of the traditional doctorate. UIDP’s model requires students to spend at least one year conducting dissertation research at a company-controlled site, with an industry mentor participating alongside their academic mentor. Students also complete an industry-focused certificate covering skills identified by employers, while their industry research becomes part of the dissertation itself. 3. Shared investment could create a new way to expand America’s STEM research capacity while tying more doctoral research to economic and national priorities. UIDP’s roughly $90 million pilot combines university support with NSF and company funding to support 250 STEM PhD students, with participating companies investing $100,000 per student. Demand emerged quickly: UIDP had three dozen university-industry pairs interested before NSF funding was secured and received 145 applications just over a month after the award, suggesting significant interest in another pathway for funding and training PhD researchers. Resources in this Episode: Learn more about UIDP I-Phd Scholars (Industry-Integrated PhD) Program Read about the launch of the I-PhD launch Connect with our guest online: Tony Boccanfuso - LinkedIn | LinkedIn | Facebook More note & resources on the episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/uidp/ We want to hear from you! Send us a text. Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #284

  Apprenticeship 101: The Modern Earn-and-Learn Model Expanding Far Beyond the Trades - David Polk, Director of Apprenticeship at WI DWD

  Sep 8, 20261h 6m

  Apprenticeship is no longer synonymous with the construction trades. Healthcare organizations are training medical assistants and registered nurses through apprenticeship. Schools are using the model to prepare teachers. Employers are applying it to occupations from arboriculture to human resources. At the same time, more high school students are using Youth Apprenticeship to begin building skills and gaining paid work experience before they graduate. So what actually makes something an apprenticeship, and why are so many industries taking a fresh look at a model that has existed for more than a century? David Polk, Director of Apprenticeship at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, takes us inside the modern apprenticeship system. A third-generation apprentice who began his own career as a plumber, David now leads one of the country’s most established state apprenticeship systems and serves as president of the National Association of State and Territorial Apprenticeship Directors. In this episode, we break down Registered Apprenticeship and Youth Apprenticeship, how the earn-and-learn model combines paid employment with structured education and mentorship, and what it takes for employers to participate. David also explains how apprenticeship is expanding into occupations that have never traditionally used the model, how states and the federal government shape apprenticeship policy and funding, and why earlier exposure to hands-on careers matters for the workforce pipeline. In this episode: What separates Registered Apprenticeship, Youth Apprenticeship and other forms of work-based learning How earn-and-learn flips the traditional education-to-employment model Why apprenticeship is expanding into healthcare, education, HR and other occupations beyond the trades How employers can use Youth Apprenticeship to build an earlier connection with future talent How federal policy, state systems and funding influence apprenticeship growth 3 Big Takeaways from this Episode: 1. Apprenticeship integrates education and employment instead of treating them as separate stages. 2. Apprenticeship is a workforce development model, not a category of trades careers. 3. Building the workforce pipeline starts earlier than the point of hire. Resources in this Episode: Wisconsin Apprenticeships - Find more about registered, youth and certified pre-apprenticeship U.S. Department of Labor - Apprenticeships WisTRAIN grants Wisconsin Fast Forward grants HEART Grant for rural healthcare National Association of State and Territorial Apprenticeship Directors (NASTAD) Email the WI DWD Apprenticeship team More notes & resources on the episode page: https://techedpodcast.com/polk We want to hear from you! Send us a text. Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #283

  21 Million Graduates: The Overlooked Workforce Pipeline – CT Turner, President of GED Testing Service

  Sep 1, 202653 min

  For decades, the GED has been viewed as a second chance to finish high school. But with employers struggling to find talent and millions of Americans looking for a pathway to better work, that definition is increasingly outdated. More than 21 million people have earned a GED since the program began, with another 150,000+ graduates each year. Many are working adults pursuing the credential for a very practical reason: they want access to a better job, career training or continued education. At the same time, employers in healthcare, manufacturing, energy and the skilled trades are struggling to find talent. GED Testing Service President CT Turner argues those aren’t separate challenges. GED graduates represent an enormous, largely overlooked talent pipeline, and earning the credential should be the beginning of the pathway, not the end. In this episode, we talk about today's GED earners, how AI enables personalized learning for individuals from every walk of life, plus new ways employers can get access to this talent pipeline. In this episode: Meet the GED you didn't know (it's not just a symbolic credential!) One of the country’s largest potential talent pipelines employers are probably overlooking The pitfall of employers trying to recruit their way out of persistent workforce shortages Personalized learning, outcomes, and the next generation of education technology 3 Big Takeaways from this Episode: 1. America doesn’t just have a talent shortage. It has a talent access problem. Employers continue competing for the same workforce while a largely overlooked pipeline of GED learners and graduates is ready to move into better careers. CT argues that industries like healthcare need to create new entry points and internal pathways, connecting GED graduates to roles such as phlebotomy or medical assisting that can become the first rung in a much longer career ladder. 2. The economic value of a GED comes from the career pathways it opens. Earning the credential expands opportunity, but CT describes it as a “springboard” rather than the destination. GED Career Connect is putting that philosophy into practice by connecting graduates directly to career training, beginning with eight allied health certification pathways and plans to expand into additional industries. 3. AI in education should be judged by learner outcomes, not technological novelty. GED learners using its AI tutor are spending twice as much time studying, and learners who previously failed a math test doubled their chances of passing on their next attempt after using the app and tutor. For CT, that’s the real promise of AI: using personalization to help more learners persist and succeed, rather than adding another layer of technology that doesn’t change the outcome. Resources in this Episode: Learn more about the GED National GED Day - September 16th GED Career Connect Find more resources on the episode page! We want to hear from you! Send us a text. Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #282

  Retention First: Rethinking the Talent Equation – Jason Desentz, CHRO of Toshiba America

  Aug 25, 20261h 2m

  For decades, the standard HR playbook has been attract, retain, develop. Jason Desentz thinks the order is wrong. As Chief Human Resources Officer of Toshiba America, Desentz starts with the people already inside the business. In technical fields where experienced employees can take a year or more to train, retention is not simply an HR metric. It affects how quickly a company can grow, respond to new demand and capitalize on emerging markets. That equation is becoming even more important as AI infrastructure drives investment in energy and advanced technology while manufacturers compete for a limited pool of skilled technical talent. Desentz brings an unusually business-first perspective to HR. He evaluates people decisions against ROI, challenges his team to experiment with AI, and argues that HR leaders need to understand the technology, operations and economics of the companies they serve. At the same time, his approach is deeply human: listen to employees, get creative about the employee experience, invest in development and give people opportunities to try something new. From rebuilding pathways into manufacturing to preparing 6,000 Toshiba employees across the Americas for AI, this conversation explores what changes when people strategy becomes business strategy. In this episode: Why the return of U.S. manufacturing is colliding with a technical talent pipeline weakened by decades of offshoring How AI-driven data centers are creating new workforce demand across energy, infrastructure and field service Why Desentz puts retention before attraction when thinking about talent strategy How Toshiba evaluates the ROI of retaining highly specialized employees who can take more than a year to train Why CHROs need to understand the CEO, operations, technology and business economics, not just HR How high-school co-ops, technical education and experiential learning can rebuild pathways into manufacturing careers 3 Big Takeaways 1. Your workforce strategy is part of your growth strategy. Toshiba sees significant opportunity as AI and data-center investment drives demand for energy generation, storage and infrastructure. But capturing that opportunity requires having specialized technical talent available when demand arrives. For a CHRO, workforce capacity becomes a strategic constraint that has to be planned alongside growth. 2. Calculate the business value of retaining technical expertise. Some Toshiba field-service employees require more than a year of training to service complex equipment. Desentz estimates losing one could cost roughly $100,000, before accounting for the time required to rebuild that expertise. That changes the economics of retention: spending creatively to improve an employee’s experience can be far less expensive than replacing specialized capability. 3. Build AI capability by giving employees real problems to solve. Toshiba launched a six-course AI-readiness curriculum through Toshiba University, but Desentz didn’t stop at instruction. His HR organization formed teams to build AI agents around actual business needs, including payroll, attendance and recruiting. Employees learned the technology by applying it, while Toshiba surfaced tools it could potentially deploy in the business. We want to hear from you! Send us a text. Instagram - Facebook - YouTube - TikTok - Twitter - LinkedIn

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on The TechEd Podcast. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.