Indian Institute students take in global focus at
UNO workshop
Describing it as an
opportunity of a lifetime, 50 MBA students and 10 faculty members and
administrators from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur
visited UNO in May for the International Marketing & Strategy Workshop.
The students were
from the Vinod Gupta School of Management at IIT. Gupta, founder, chairman and
CEO of Omaha-headquartered infoUSA, Inc., is a 1967 graduate of IIT Kharagpur,
near Kolkata. He created the IIT Foundation and the school which bears his
name. InfoUSA President Rakesh Gupta (no relation to Vinod) also is an IIT
graduate and assisted in developing the IIT/UNO program.
The students' visit
was sponsored by infoUSA and hosted by UNO's International Studies and
Programs, College of Business Administration (CBA) and College of Information
Science and Technology (IS&T). UNO and IIT signed a sister university
affiliation agreement in 2004 that has brought six students, two at a time, to
study at IS&T.
To further this
relationship and make a larger impact on the lives of students, infoUSA's Vin
Gupta and IIT administrators signed an agreement with UNO to fund three years
of student exchange groups. This was the first of three groups from IIT to
visit UNO. Three groups of UNO students will have a similar one-week program in
India. Gupta and infoUSA fund all but the students' airfare.
"Bringing in a group
of 60 at one time is really a grand way to kick off our 'sister university'
relationship with IIT," says Merry Ellen Turner, director of International
Programs at UNO.
While in Omaha, the
IIT group visited Gallup University and the offices of ConAgra Foods, infoUSA,
Berkshire Hathaway and Union Pacific. They toured Nebraska Furniture Mart and
had lunch with Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett.
"The interaction has
given us a real perspective on the community and America," says Anushka Nagban,
a 24-year-old MBA student. "I loved meeting with the teachers and the business
leaders."
MBA graduate Shilpi,
25, says she was impressed by UNO's global focus, "which we miss sometimes in
India."
IS&T Professor
Deepak Khazanchi also is an IIT Kharagpur graduate. "The IIT students commented
that this has been a life-changing experience for them," he says. "The UNO
faculty and Omaha executives who met with the students spoke of being enriched
by the experience."
As did several IIT
faculty members.
"The humbleness and
readiness of the faculty and corporate leaders to exchange ideas in a very
precise way is extremely impressive," says Professor Sadhan K. De. "Chancellor
(Nancy) Belck, the vice chancellor and the deans all speak in a single voice
about the university's goals of student focus, academic excellence and
community engagement. Our faculty shares those goals."
IIT Professor H.R.
Tewari says the relationship forged by Vinod Gupta and the two institutions
should expand. "Our eagerness to meet the challenges together, not to live in
isolation, is something very significant. We'd like to further it."
Wide Focus
Sessions attended by groups visiting UNO from
the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur were led by faculty from the
College of Business Administration, assisted by faculty at the College of
Information Science and Technology. Topics included:
• Strategic leadership;
• Global business and finance;
• Innovation management;
• Creativity and entrepreneurial planning;
• Facilitation of electronic collaboration
using information technology; and,
• E-commerce and marketing in a high tech
environment.
Bob Batt of the Nebraska Furniture Mart
addresses the group of IIT students. Photo by Tim Fitzgerald / University
Affairs.
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Fostering diversity with a
handshake
Reaching out each
year to shake the hands of hundreds of young students, including many women and
minority youths, Judy Monarrez Diaz-Kelsey sometimes has a problem.
She finds it difficult
to let go.
"I see so many
bright kids who have so much to offer," says Kelsey, student recruiter for the
College of Information Science and Technology (IS&T). "I just want them all
to give higher education a shot."
For six years the Sioux City, Iowa, native has served as
IS&T's student recruiter and academic advisor. In April she was named the
staff recipient of the Chancellor's Commission on Multicultural Affairs
Diversity Award. A nominator wrote that the notoriety UNO has received
regarding multicultural opportunities "is a direct result of Judy's selfless
hard work bringing our students and community together."
She is no stranger
to hard work—or to the value of pursuing a dream. Her father, Juan Monarrez,
toiled in the meatpacking plants in Sioux City and Omaha. Her mother, Gloria,
cleaned houses, did some factory work and worked in restaurants. Today her
parents are the proud owners of Club Mex, a restaurant near 93rd and Maple
Streets that has built a satisfied and loyal following for more than 15 years.
Kelsey earned a
bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in counseling from UNO. The
first of the three Monarrez children to attend college, she personally relates
to the uncertainty many young women and minority youths experience in similar
situations.
"It's a very new,
difficult, maybe even scary experience for some of these families," she says.
"Their parents may have only an elementary school education, yet they came here
to find better educational opportunities for their children. I can help."
The IS&T
recruitment effort includes summer workshops for computer-savvy students as
young as 11 up to high school age, as well as opportunities for the public to
tour the Peter Kiewit Institute.
Kelsey tracks kids'
current technology interests while visiting area high schools, participating in
college fairs and talking with her 14-year-old son, Jovan. "He's who I consult
with to find out what the kids might like in the summer workshops. If I can
impress him, I know I can keep them interested."
She is seeing
results. "Little by little, our diversity here at IS&T is improving."
The scarcity of
women and minorities studying information technology is a national trend, she
says. "It's not just a UNO problem."
To boost those
enrollments, Kelsey has helped organize events including "Diversity in
Information Science & Technology Week" and "Latino Day for the College of
IS&T and Engineering."
She and others,
including Doug Bahle, coordinator of the Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI) Career
Resource Center, are committed to turning degrees into careers. Bahle keeps
students posted on hundreds of job and internship openings through emails and
personal visits.
"We work together to
make it as easy as possible for students to achieve their academic goals," she
says. "There's really no reason for them to wonder where they will work after
graduation. They can pick and choose where they'll go.
"From the resources
that we bring directly to our students, to the supportive faculty and staff, I
don't think it gets any better."
She loves to prove
it, starting with a handshake.
Judy Monarrez Diaz-Kelsey and her
Chancellor's Commission on Multicultural Affairs Diversity Award. Photo by Tim
Fitzgerald / University Affairs.
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Bots
are Hot
In his workshop at the Peter Kiewit Institute,
computer science graduate Christopher Williams taps away at the keyboard of his
laptop, its screen displaying a blueprint of rooms, walls and hallways. Behind
him, "Yellow" makes a sort of whirring sound as it begins rolling. Williams
glances back and shakes his head.
"Right
now, the big wheel on one side is turning slightly faster than the other side.
That makes it curve a little," he explains apologetically, "but we'll fix it."
"Yellow" is the second generation of five
robots Williams and other students have programmed as part of a wireless remote
robotics project at UNO's College of Information Science & Technology
(IS&T).
Rather than give the backpack-sized,
floor-hugging robots traditional names, they are referred to simply by their
color.
Along with Assistant Professor Jon Youn and
others, Williams has been working since January on a project that will allow
Yellow, Blue and the other "bots" to interact with and be tracked by wireless
sensors. The grant-funded project has many commercial applications, including
facility security.
"For example, the robots could automatically
patrol the halls in a building, using their ultrasonic and infrared sensors to
detect open doors, break-ins or the heat of an intruder," Williams says. "We
also can put a sensor on the robot and track it through the building's wireless
sensor network."
The native of Elk Horn, Iowa, says linking the
College of IS&T and the University of Nebraska College of Engineering
within the Peter Kiewit Institute provides students with unique opportunities.
"It's a great environment, having engineering
and IS&T side-by-side. Sometimes we need circuits soldered, sometimes they
need software, and we're right around the corner from each other. It creates a
synergy that's beneficial to both."
As for his professional career, Williams has
options.
"I can see myself in the corporate field, then
taking that experience and applying it to a classroom, because I love the
college environment. In the classroom, I could use my corporate experience to
focus on the functional part of the lesson, not just the theory."
Williams and "Blue," one of the
second-generation wireless remote robots IS&T students have programmed.
Photo by Tim Fitzgerald / University Affairs.
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Professor Victor Winter: In
for the Long Haul
Back when Victor
Winter was a college student playing piano in a rock band in Albuquerque, N.M.,
his fellow band members urged him to drop out and join their quest for a
recording contract.
He turned them down,
choosing instead to focus on "the long run."
Today,
Winter is an associate professor of computer science at UNO's College of
Information Science and Technology. He still has a passion for music—and for
considering the long-term consequences when it comes to teaching, research and
his students.
"Research helps
students develop problem-solving skills that are difficult, if not impossible,
to pick up in a traditional classroom setting," he says. "Solving a research
problem requires patience, perseverance, initiative and a long-term view."
Those problem-solving
skills are highly valued in industry, Winter says. "Facing a vaguely defined
problem, an experienced professional will see an 'opportunity' for a creative
solution. An inexperienced person will see only chaos."
Winter's students
have benefited from his perspective.
Prior to coming to
UNO in 2001, Winter worked at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque.
Sandia is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility with diverse operations
ranging from research in military and energy technologies to providing
stewardship over the nation's nuclear stockpile.
Winter has kept
active his connection with Sandia, conducting research projects, obtaining
grants and helping secure internships and jobs for IS&T students and grads.
"Sandia is a fabulous
place to work," he says. "Internships there are 'enablers.' They look great on
a resume and they open doors."
It did for Brent
Kucera. An intern at Sandia the summer of 2004, Kucera graduated in May 2005
with a bachelor's degree in computer science. Today, the 23-year-old is
employed full time at Sandia working with Field Programmable Gate Arrays.
"I was always
interested in programming, starting when I was 13 or 14," Kucera says. "Victor
Winter stretched me past regular programming to find my potential."
Kucera praises
Winter, Dr. Blaine Burnham and other IS&T faculty for taking the time to
get involved with students. "I talked with some friends, and compared to their
college experiences, the teachers at IS&T aren't weeding people out but
helping them to succeed. That puts UNO programs way above other programs."
Jason Beranek
graduated in May 2005 with a bachelor's degree in computer science. Based in
part on a recommendation from Winter, the 24-year-old got a job as a system
software engineer with the MITRE Corp., a federally-funded, not-for-profit
research and development organization whose Department of Defense clients
include U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base.
"Victor got me involved
in more research-based computer science than what the normal class load
required," Beranek says. "Without that, there would have been no chance to have
the job I have today."
Winter says IS&T
presents students a unique variety of projects from which to choose. "We can
get you to the river," he says. "What you drink and how much is up to you."
As for that rock band
back in Albuquerque, it did get a recording contract and a shot at fame.
"But in the long
run," Winter says, "it didn't last."
Victor
Winter, center, with students (from left) Ryan Lankin, Arpit Jain, Chris Scalzo
and Azamat Mametjanov. Photo by Tim Fitzgerald / University Affairs.
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