Author: Taylor Begley

Student Spotlight – Anna Hack (IMA Marketing Officer)

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UConn Senior, Anna Hack currently serves as the Marketing Officer for the Information Management Association (IMA). After starting out at UConn as a Marketing major, Anna realized her interests in technology and added a Computer Science minor during her freshman year.

Through taking Computer Science classes, Anna realized that technology was her greatest interest. She said she liked the challenge of Computer Science. Anna wanted to keep her business degree but she wanted to focus more on technology. She said that Management Information Systems (MIS) was the perfect fit for her.

As for her focus in information technology, Anna said she is most interested in application development.

“I really enjoy the creative process and seeing ideas come to life,” Anna said.

Anna said that she joined IMA to meet more MIS students and learn about the major, as it is one of the smallest majors in the School of Business. IMA has been very beneficial in networking with other students and with potential employers through career development events, she said.

As the Marketing Officer, Anna is responsible for communicating with students about the different events being held by IMA and maintaining IMA’s social media pages. Anna said the best part about IMA for her has been meeting so many people and having access to the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department’s new technologies, such as virtual reality.

As for students considering an MIS major, Anna’s advice was to get to know upperclassmen in the major. She said it is very helpful to know people who have gone through the same classes as you and to use them as a resource. IMA provides a platform to network with these students.

After graduation, Anna will be moving to Boston to work for Accenture as a Consulting Analyst. She attributes this opportunity to UConn’s OPIM Department. She said that she is very excited to start this next chapter in her life.

Understanding Splunk Analytics

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The latest in a series of technology workshops being held by UConn’s Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department focused on Splunk Analytics. The workshop took place in the Gladstein Lab on Friday, November 11th. Twenty students attended the workshop to learn more about real-time data analytics using the Splunk platform.

The majority of students in attendance were Management Information Systems (MIS) majors, with a few other majors within the School of Business. An accounting major at the workshop said that he was interested in gaining a better understanding of Splunk because he said it is imperative to being competitive in all aspects of the business world.

Professor Jon Moore, the organizer of the technology workshops, opened up with a brief discussion about why the department is conducting the workshops. He said it is a part of a new initiative called OPIM Innovate. The initiative focuses on creating innovation space, fostering research and providing workshops to students and faculty at the university.

Ryan O’Connor, an instructor in the OPIM Department, took over and gave a presentation about the different features and uses of Splunk Analytics, along with an interactive demonstration. O’Connor said that Splunk is used in most Information Technology  companies for troubleshooting. He said that it has other uses, such as for Big Data Analytics, Data Mining, and Data Security Intelligence. O’Connor called Splunk the “Google of querying data.” He said Splunk allows users to not have to be as specific when searching for data. “I like how versatile it is and how it allows for transparency in IT organizations,” Any student interested in taking Splunk Analytics classes online should email Ryan O’Connor at ryan.oconnor@uconn.edu.

The next workshop will be taking place on Friday, December 2nd with a focus on Internet of Things technology. Students interested in attending can register here to guarantee a spot in the workshop.

Traveler’s IT Case Competition

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Four students from the University of Connecticut School of Business competed in the Travelers IT Case Competition on Friday, November 4th in Hartford. Maxwell Skalski, Joel Thomas, TJ Hannon,  and Christopher Connelly were chosen to participate by UConn’s sponsor in the competition, Professor Jon Moore.

Each school participating in the competition was allowed to enter one team, composed of four members chosen by the school’s sponsor. The competition was open to students that were sophomores or juniors majoring or minoring in a field relating to information technology. Hannon represented the Management Information Systems (MIS) major for UConn in the competition. The other students’ majors varied throughout the School of Business.

Six teams competed against each other by providing solutions to an IT-based business case and presenting to a judging panel of Travelers’ senior management.

The case involved updating and improving CAT van technology at Travelers. CAT vans are custom-made RVs that are used as operational mobile claim offices for catastrophe response. This technology is important to the company because they allow Travelers to be there for their clients as soon as possible when they most need assistance.

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The case problem was sent out to the teams on October 12th, three weeks before the competition itself. At the competition, each team had 20 minutes to present a proposed solution to the case and ten minutes following for questions.

Not only was the case competition an opportunity for students to gain experience in solving real world IT problems, but it acted as a way for students to learn about job and internship opportunities at Travelers, and networking with potential future employers.

Faculty Spotlight – Alex Tung

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Alex Tung, an associate professor in the UConn School of Business Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department and a proud Husky Basketball fan, is passionate about bringing together academics and the information technology field through his work. Tung has been involved with the OPIM Department at UConn since 2000. Tung told me about his interests in information technology, his reasons for teaching, advice to students entering into the field, and his future goals for the OPIM Department.

Tung’s focus in information technology is on building and improving IT software to help businesses become more efficient and effective in decision-making. He said this require deep thinking to come up with the correct logic to solve each problem in different functional areas of businesses.

Tung became involved in teaching because he loves spreading his knowledge. He said it is extremely satisfying to him when he sees students grasp what he is teaching and apply it to real-life problem solving. He said he finds teaching to be very rewarding and interacting with students motivates him to pursue new knowledge himself.

As for the importance of the Information Technology field, Tung said that no businesses today, whether they be large or small, operate successfully without the use of technology. Information technology is everywhere and the industry is growing on a daily basis. Because of this, people are needed to build and maintain these information systems, he said.

Tung’s advice for students pursuing careers in information technology is to be passionate and persistent. He said that working in the field can sometimes be frustrating when something is not working.

“Work hard and you will succeed. Once the system you try to build is working the way it should, or the piece of computer program you wrote solves a complex problem, the feeling of fulfillment is beyond imagination,” Tung said.

Additionally, he advised students to always keep up with new technologies because the industry advances very rapidly. Mastering new technologies as they become available is a key to being successful in the information technology field, Tung said.

When asked about his future goals for the OPIM Department, Tung said he hopes to build an IT entrepreneurial field lab facility to integrate the theory and application of students’ learning. He said that the information being taught in the classroom should be able to be immediately applied to real-world scenarios while they are still at school and he wants to facilitate this.

“I have no doubt that with the high caliber of our students, the next Mark Zuckerberg could very well likely be produced by UConn’s OPIM Department,” Tung said.

A Demonstration in 3D Printing

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The Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department held a 3D Printing Workshop on Friday, October 28th. This was the second in a series of technology workshops held by the department throughout the semester.

The 3D Printing workshop went into depth about the different technologies available in the OPIM Department Gladstein Lab. Students and faculty were able to preview these technologies at the MIS Welcome Party at the beginning of the semester. The workshop was designed for those who may be new to 3D Printing technolgy or experienced users who would like to learn more about the resources available to them in the OPIM Department.

During Friday’s workshop, The OPIM Department explained how 3D Printing technology works, what it is being used for, and how it was developed. Students in attendance were given a detailed presentation on the 3D printing technology, while observing the technology in action. The goal of the workshop was to inform interested students and faculty about these technologies and to demonstrate how they operate.

The workshop featured the Maker-Bot Replicator 2X and Maker-Bot Replicator Z18 systems. The Department demonstrated the printers by taking a photo of a pumpkin and printing it into a three-dimensional object.

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In his presentation, Chris Buckridge (BUSN IT) explained some ways that 3D Printing is currently being utilized, such as radio prototyping, healthcare products, education, recreation and architecture.

There were over 20 students and faculty present at the workshop. Due to limited space, registration was available online prior to the workshop. All of the available spots were filled with additional walk-in attendees.

The next workshop will be about exploring real time data analytics using the Splunk platform. That workshop will be held on Friday, November 11th at 1 p.m. in the Gladstein Lab. Interested individuals can register here to guarantee a spot in the workshop.

Student Spotlight – Jenny Tang (IMA Secretary)

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18cf955A junior at the University of Connecticut, Jenny Tang serves as the Information Management Association (IMA) Secretary. As Secretary, Jenny does a lot work behind the scenes for IMA by organizing the group’s information.

Jenny told me about her journey to becoming a Business major, the reason she became involved in IMA, her involvement at UConn, and her future plans for her senior year and beyond.

Jenny started out at UConn as a Computer Science major and she is now in the process of pursuing a Management Information Systems major. She said she is working on creating her own individualized major that combines MIS, Computer Science and Communications Technologies.

This individualized major includes classes based in the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) and Communication Technology departments. Her reasoning for pursuing a specialized major is to understand human interaction with technology and how people design and develop systems, as a result.

After hearing about IMA at the Involvement Fair and speaking with members, Jenny decided to join. At the time, Jenny was a Computer Science major, which is not in the School of Business. Jenny encourages any students, business majors or not, to join IMA. She said that the meetings and events held by IMA apply to anybody that is interested in technology.

Jenny noted that the recruitment events held by IMA are especially beneficial for Computer Science and MIS majors. On the other hand, the workshops held by the OPIM Department throughout the semester appeal to anybody that is interested in technology.

When asked about the best part about being involved in IMA, Jenny said it is the people. She said she has met a variety of people in your classes that she never got the chance to meet before IMA. She said it is a great place to meet and network with people that have similar interests.

Jenny said that she wants to continue to be involved in IMA next year, whether it is with the same position or a different position. She said she does not care so much about what position she has, she just wants to help IMA grow by spreading awareness about the organization and the MIS major.

In addition to her position in IMA, Jenny is on the executive board of Kids and UConn Bridging Education (KUBE), where she mentors elementary and middle school students one Saturday a month.

Beyond her time at UConn, Jenny hopes to pursue a career in Information Technology. She said she is not sure what field of IT she wants to specialize in exactly, but she hopes to start out in a rotation program where she can figure out what area of IT she wants to focus on for the majority of her career.

Annual CIMBA Industry Panel

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Over 250 students in the University of Connecticut School of Business attended the annual CIMBA (Careers in Information Management and Business Analytics) Industry panel discussion. The event was held in UConn’s Rome Ballroom on Wednesday, October 19th. Many senior IT executives and recent UConn graduates made up the panel this year.

The purpose of holding this event each year is to spread awareness to undergraduate students about career opportunities in Management Information Systems (MIS) and Business Analytics.

All students in the Business Information Systems (OPIM 3103) course were required to attend the forum as part of their grade. This is a course that is required for all students in the School of Business meant to build a understanding of  information systems across all majors.  Instructors of the course were in attendance to answer questions and provide guiding questions.

MIS Professor Jon Moore said that this event allows students to learn from UConn MIS alumni and to see how they got to where they are today.

The Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Assistant Department Head, Ramesh Shankar said that many students have switched to the MIS major after being exposed to this event in the past.

In addition to its benefits for Business students, this event is an important community outreach activity, Shankar said. A group of high school students and their instructor for Pathways to Technology Magnet School in Hartford were in attendance.

 

 

Faculty Spotlight – Ramesh Shankar

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Ramesh Shankar is an Associate Professor and the Assistant Department Head of the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department at the University of Connecticut School of Business. With a Ph.D. from NYU Stern School of Business, Shankar began his work at UConn in 2004.

Aside from teaching at UConn, Shankar is constantly conducting technology research. His current research focuses on Big Data analytics, social media, strategic analysis of digital goods such as software, music and video games, and the impact of information systems on business processes and the structure of firms.

The area of technology that Shankar is most interested in is Business Analytics, which is being enabled by other emerging technology trends – such as, internet of things, mobile devices and big data technology.

Shankar said that he became interested in teaching because it is an environment that allows him to constantly be exposed to new ideas and learning new things. He said that teaching gives him a broader perspective and leads him to explore things in greater detail than he maybe would have thought to do on his own.

As for advice, Shankar tells MIS students to, “Be curious!” He encourages students to try out new technologies as they become available. He thinks it is important for MIS students to learn about how new technologies work to ultimately think about how these technologies could change how we function as a society.

In regards to the future of the OPIM Department, Shankar said that he is excited, particularly, about bring Big Data Technology to the classroom. He is currently teaching a masters level course in Big Data Technology called “Big Data Analytics using Hadoop.” Hadoop is an open-source software framework for distributed storage and processing of large data sets on computer clusters. His goal is to move these types of courses into the undergraduate level in the near future.

PwC Case Competition

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Professor Jon Moore of the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department and his team of five students won the PwC Case Competition that took place on October 14th.

After being selected to participate, Moore’s team, Cook the Books were given an accounting-based business case on September 30th. They had two weeks to come up with an action plan and present it to the PwC Executive Panel. The case focused on analyzing and implementing sustainable business practices regarding environmental concerns.

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Each team was given a faculty mentor and a PwC mentor from the University of Connecticut School of Business. Moore was Cook the Books’ faculty mentor and Danielle Feldman their PwC mentor.

Although the focus of this competition was in Accounting, Moore said that PwC started incorporating the OPIM Department last year. He said that as a company, PwC is moving toward data and information technology consulting space. This year, four Management Information Systems (MIS) students participated in the competition, in comparison to the one student that competed last year, Moore said.

The OPIM Department was represented on Professor Moore’s team by Kayla Chalmers, a Management Information Systems (MIS) major. In addition to Kayla, Cook the Books was composed of three accounting majors, Dan Albano, Alex Xu and Madison Begley, and a business undecided student, Marissa Repole.

Following the presentations, the top team, Cook the Books, was announced at an awards luncheon. Each student on the team was awarded $250.

Exploring Virtual Reality

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The Operations and Inform14632561_10207418788043762_504026393_oation Management (OPIM) Department kicked off the first in a series of technology workshops that they will be holding throughout the semester. The first workshop was held on Friday October 14th, showcasing the department’s virtual reality (VR) technologies.

Earlier in the semester at the MIS Welcome Party, students and faculty were given a brief look at virtual reality and other technologies available in the OPIM Department. Each workshop will go into more depth regarding each piece of technology.

This workshop was designed for those who may be new to VR or experienced users who would like to learn more about the resources available to them in the OPIM Department. Professor Jon Moore said he wants to promote interest in these new technologies and to provide a way for those interested to learn more about them.

The department capped the workshop at 20 participants due to limited space in the Gladstein Lab, where the VR equipment is located. All of the spots were quickly filled via online registration prior to the workshop. Professor Moore was happy to see how enthusiastic people were to participate. Students in attendance said that they signed up for the workshop to learn more about the different VR systems, how they were developed, and what they are being used for.

The workshop featured three different kinds of VR systems, including Google Cardboard, Gear VR and the HTC Vive, a fully immersive system. The HTC Vive was the main attraction, w14689296_10207418781563600_590417507_oith students lined up to try it out. The Vive featured a variety of experiences, for both entertainment and education.

One of the educationally focused games allowed users to virtually enter and interact with the human body. It taught users about the different parts of the body as they navigated through, interacting with different parts of the cell, DNA, proteins and more. Professor Moore said that one feature allowed users to see what diseases and infections look like on the inside, providing a more realistic learning experience.

One student, Sarah Burdick said that it was cool to visually see and interact with what she had learned in science classes. She said it made science seem much more interesting to learn.

The VR technology in the OPIM department is being used for recreation and experimental learning, Professor Moore said. Moore teaches a class at UConn called Gamification in Business, in which he hopes to utilize VR technology. He said that the department hopes to incorporate these technologies further into the curriculum in the near future. The department is actively looking into how businesses are using virtual reality technologies in order to prepare students to use these types of technologies in real-world situations.

The next workshop will be an introduction to 3D Printing on Friday, October 28th. Interested individuals can sign up here to reserve a spot.