The Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department held a seminar about the Management Information Systems (MIS) major on Thursday, February 16th. Students and faculty filled the UConn School of Business Lounge to eat, network and hear more about the MIS major.
The purpose of the MIS Meet and Greet was to inform students about the major and to allow them to connect with faculty and other students in the department.
Professor Jon Moore of the OPIM Department gave a presentation about the MIS major – what makes a successful candidate, skills necessary for the major, options within the major for different interest areas, an overview of the curriculum, and a career outlook.
MIS is a very diverse major in that there are some very technological students and others that are not. He explained that there are different career options for MIS students based on their involvement or lack there of in the technology aspect of the major. Contrary to what one may think, he said that the majority of MIS students take the management role versus an IT-heavy role in their careers.
Moore said that the great thing about a career in MIS is the flexibility and potential for growth. He said that of the School of Business, MIS undergraduates have the highest average salary right out of college. The courses offered in MIS focus on different types of emerging technology to increase marketability of students and to prepare them to go right to work in the field.
Additionally, Moore announced the new Data Analytics minor, coming to the OPIM Department in Fall 2017. He said the minor will be more of an option for students who are not MIS majors, but are still interested in the subject.
Moore encouraged all students with an interest in MIS and technology to join the Information Management Association (IMA), as it is a great way to prepare for a career in the field through networking and career-building events.
Finally, Moore spoke about the OPIM Innovate initiative and the new Innovation space that will be opening for students. He said that the space will be available to all students, not only MIS majors. He encouraged students to give their feedback on what the department has been doing so far, such as the technology workshops, and he is open to any suggestions for the future.
There is a “Workshop Wishlist” posted in the Gladstein Lab and Moore told students to go in and write any suggestions for technology workshops that they’d like to see in the future. There is also an advisory group that meets each Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon to discuss feedback and hear suggestions on the initiative. Moore encourages any students interested in joining this advisory group to contact him at jonathan.a.moore@uconn.edu.
Moore said that due to a great amount of interest, the OPIM Department will be adding two additional workshops this semester – an Introduction to SAS and an Introduction to Gamification. Once the dates for these events are finalized they will be posted here.