Month: February 2019

Upcoming Workshops: OPIM Innovate

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OPIM Innovate is proud to announce that it will be continuing its workshop series starting this Friday, February 15th. Topics that will be covered in this semester’s workshops include artificial intelligence (A.I.), wearable technology, drones, Splunk analytics, natural language processing, and 3D printing. All workshops will be held on Fridays at the Gladstein Lab, BUSN 391 from 1:00-3:00 PM and are open to all UConn students, staff, and faculty. For more details on these workshops, including where to sign up, please keep reading!

Friday, February 15th – Introduction to A.I. Workshop: This informative workshop will be exploring the concepts of machine learning and neural networks. Discussions will also be had concerning the real-world implications of A.I. progression for the future. Interested? Sign up here. 

Friday, February 22nd – Splunk Analytics Workshop: During this workshop, attendees will be briefed on the Splunk Enterprise software and how Splunk, Inc. is revolutionizing the analysis of machine data. Data security, Internet of Things, and machine learning concepts will also be discussed and further explored through Splunk. While a prior understanding of the fundamentals to the aforementioned concepts can be helpful, it is not required for participation in the workshop. Additional resources will be provided to those who want to learn more about Splunk after the workshop. Interested? Sign up here.

Friday, March 1st – Wearable Tech in Action Workshop: In this workshop, attendees will learn how microcontrollers are being used to help solve real-world business problems. Then, after being introduced to microcontrollers like FLORA and GEMMA, they will be invited to build their own wearable projects for hands-on experience. Different projects will be available to choose from. We will be providing additional resources for those who would like to learn more about microcontrollers after the workshop. Interested? Sign up here.

Friday, March 29th – Alexa Skill Building Workshop: Smart voice and natural language processing technologies are becoming the new norm due to smart speaker products like the Amazon Alexa line. In this workshop, attendees will be given an overview of these smart speakers and their application in different business sectors. Then, each participant will develop their own Alexa Skill for Alexa to learn. Interested? Sign up here. 

Friday, April 19th – Drones in Action Workshop:  This workshop, in collaboration with On Course Drones, a drone pilot training company, teaches students about drone technology and how drones fly. During the workshop, attendees will learn about how drones have impacted a number of industries, including the insurance, logistics, medicine, and entertainment industries. This will then lead to a demonstration of different types of drones and hands-on, drone-flying experience. Interested? Sign up here.

Friday, April 26th – 3D Modeling Workshop: The last workshop of the semester, the 3D Modeling workshop will give attendees an overview of 3D Modeling technologies and how they are used in different industries. Real world demonstrations of 3D Printing will also be shown, and additional resources will be provided for those who would like to learn more. Interested? Sign up here. 

We hope that one or more of our workshops interest you, and that you come visit us, soon!

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Your Calendars: OPIM Alumni & Student Networking Dinner

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On Wednesday, February 27th, the Operations & Information Management (OPIM) Department will be hosting their third annual OPIM Alumni & Student Dinner & Networking event. This event is meant to give current UConn School of Business students studying management information systems, business data analytics, or business technology the ability to network with alumni & faculty in their prospective fields. It is a wonderful opportunity to gain more insight into the world of business, to learn more about how business technology is used in different industries, & to eat some great food!

The event will be held at UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center in Downtown Hartford at 6:00 PM. For directions, please click here. 

To sign up for this event, we ask that you register here.

We hope to see you there!

 

 

 

Mark Your Calendars: Innovation Quest Kickoff

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On Wednesday, February 13th, the Werth Institute will be holding a kickoff workshop for Innovation Quest (iQ) 2019. Innovation Quest, one of Werth’s largest entrepreneurial programs, gives students of different academic backgrounds the opportunity to turn their innovative business ideas into a reality. Students at any stage of the entrepreneurial process can participate, meaning that ideas do not have to be fully realized in order to be considered. After the kickoff, which will be held at 7:00 PM in MCHU 102, various other workshops will be held during the semester to teach students how to make their ideas into successful business plans.

Other than their workshops, Innovation Quest also hosts the iQ Competition. Those who apply for the iQ Competition (deadline: March 26th, 2019) are sorted into a top 20 list, and then those finalists have the opportunity to present their ideas to a panel of judges. The top three winners of the iQ Competition get $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000, respectively. These cash prizes allow students to begin investing in their ideas and hopefully start making their business plans a reality.

 

A Reflection: MIS Meet and Greet

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On Friday, February 8th, the OPIM Department hosted a Management Information Systems (MIS) Meet and Greet. The event was for students studying MIS or interested in the major, and was a perfect opportunity to learn more about the OPIM Department, OPIM Innovate, and the Information Management Association (IMA).

At the event, which was hosted in the Gladstein Research Lab, many emerging technologies were out for display and available to use. However, the biggest hit was the virtual reality (VR) demo, utilizing the HTC Vive’s virtual reality headset and wireless controllers. Strapped up to a portable backpack computer, students used the HTC Vive and Valve’s The Lab application to immerse themselves in several virtual reality environments. For Nicole Roehrig, a graduate exchange student from Germany studying mechanical engineering, the MIS Meet and Greet was the first place she had ever used a VR system. Reflecting on her experience after the demo, she said, “I heard a lot about [VR] in some of my lectures, but actually doing it was really cool.”

Other than testing out the tech and grabbing some goodies, the MIS Meet and Greet also became a place for casual conversation among MIS majors, the IMA, and other students. As Victoria Trautman (MIS ’20), president of the IMA, eloquently stated, “The MIS Meet and Greet definitely helped create a sense of community for students and IMA.”

This message also rang true for Amber Rehman (’21), who just recently switched her major from finance to MIS. She said she attended the Meet and Greet to speak with other MIS majors and to make sure she “made a good choice,” to which she enthusiastically affirmed she did. “[The MIS Meet and Greet] was overall a great time,” Rehman added, “and I enjoyed creating a greater bond among my peers of similar interests.”

In total, the MIS Meet and Greet had about 35 students in attendance, most of which were MIS majors. For those interested in a similar networking environment focused on MIS and information technology (IT), consider joining the IMA! It holds weekly meetings centered around career readiness, invites industry professionals to talk about the IT field and recruit students for their companies, and is a great place to meet and talk to other people interested in MIS.