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December 2016 – Newsletter
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Month: December 2016
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Open in new tab IMA Study Break
Students in the University of Connecticut School of Business took a break from studying for final exams and enjoyed some snacks in the Business School Lounge on Thursday, December 15th. The Information Management Association (IMA) sponsored this study break event, providing a place for students to gather and learn more about the organization.
Students and faculty from the School of Business stopped by to mingle and unwind from a stressful week. The IMA President, Tyler Lauretti facilitated the event and welcomed students to participate. At the event, Lauretti informed students about IMA to potentially spark their interests. Lauretti compiled a list of contact information from the students that stopped in to the event to keep them updated on IMA’s events and programs for the upcoming semester.
IMA would like to wish everyone luck on the rest of finals and a happy holiday season!
A schedule of upcoming events in the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department will be posted in the next few weeks for the Spring 2017 semester.
What is Internet of Things technology?
The final technology workshop for the Fall 2016 semester put on by the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department on Internet of Things (IoT) took place on Friday, December 2nd. Approximately 20 students attended the workshop in the Gladstein Lab.
Professor Ryan O’Connor gave an interactive presentation to the group, explaining IoT and how it is used in business. His goal was to make IoT technology tangible for students and to teach them more about how it applies to different areas of business.
According to O’Connor’s presentation, the concept of Internet of Things refers to the ever-growing network of physical objects that feature an IP address for internet connectivity, and the communication that occurs between these objects and other Internet-enabled devices and systems.
O’Connor said he became interested in IoT because he is involved in network design and application. He used the Amazon Echo named Alexa as an example of IoT technology during his presentation. Using voice commands, Alexa controlled other devices in the room through Internet connectivity. Other devices shown were the Awair air monitoring system, Flower Power plant sensor, and LIFX smart light bulbs.
Students in attendance were impressed with the presentation and many said they learned many things about IoT in such a short time. One student said he was very interested in the presentation and wanted to continue exploring IoT after the workshop. He said that O’Connor’s presentation was extremely informative and sparked his interest in the topic even further.
When asked why IoT technology is so important, O’Connor answered simply, “Because it’s the future!”
Tableau: An Introduction to Data Analytics
The Dean’s Office at the UConn School of Business sponsored a workshop on Tableau data visualization software for students in the Business Connections Learning Center (BCLC). The two-hour workshop took place on the morning of Thursday, December 1st, with 20 students in attendance, the majority of whom were freshmen.The workshop was co-taught by two faculty members in the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department – Jon Moore and Ryan O’Connor.
The purpose of the workshop was to introduce freshmen and sophomore undergraduate students to data analytics technology and data visualization. The workshop allowed students to learn more about the Management Information Systems (MIS) major and potentially spark their interests in the subject.
The instructors walked students through basic data visualization on the Tableau software and allowed students to experiment with different data sets. The workshop finished with an open-ended problem that asked students to find different stock price data sets and visualize them. The goa
l was to allow students to visualize and connect the data sets to real world business problems.
Moore said that the workshop allowed students to learn more about how to use technology in their respective majors. A variety of majors were represented, including MIS, Marketing, Accounting and Finance.
The event was voluntary and Moore was pleased with the turn out. He said that it was very rewarding to see the amount of students that expressed interest in the subject. Following the workshop, O’Connor gave students resources to learn more about Tableau going forward.
Network and Dine
Networking is an important skill for students to master to succeed in the business world, said Professor Jon Moore of the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department. On Wednesday, November 30th, the OPIM Department held the School of Business MIS, BDA, Business Technology Alumni & Student Dinner and Networking Dinner to offer current students the opportunity to network and gain valuable insight from alumni and faculty.
Undergraduate students, alumni, and faculty gathered in UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford where they took part in a dinner similar to speed-dating. The dinner was broken up into three courses – salad, entree and dessert. After each course, students were instructed to change tables, allowing them to sit and speak with a different set of alumni and faculty.
Management Information Systems (MIS) students were able to speak with alumni about different opportunities within the major and potential career paths after graduation. Alumni shared their experiences, giving students the tools to succeed in the field.
As a newly declared MIS major, Justin Holman (’18) saw the alumni and faculty as resources to introduce him to his career options. Holman said he was looking forward to speaking with alumni about their experiences and how they got to where they are now in their careers.
In addition to providing students with their expertise, the event provided alumni with a way to get involved with the department. During the dinner, Moore updated the attendees on the department’s new initiatives. Specifically, Moore invited alumni and their respective companies to get involved in OPIM Innovate, the innovation space and experiential learning initiative that the department is in the process of implementing.
A recent graduate of UConn, Kevin Brown (’16) said he decided to attend the event out of appreciation for the OPIM Department. Brown said that participating in the event was a great way for him to give back to the program that gave him so much during his time at UConn. Brown said he wanted to inform students about the less common, more technical options available to MIS students.
Moore got the chance to speak with many of the students and alumni in attendance, gathering feedback on the event.
“I spoke to an alumnus who was three years out of college and he said that he attended last night because he would have given anything for someone to help him out and give him advice when he was an undergraduate student. He thought that was the best way to give back and make a difference,” Moore said.
Wednesday’s networking event was a great success, Moore said. He said the department plans to have similar networking events in the coming semesters.