Computer Science and Systems Analysis
2008 Alumni Conference Agenda
April 3rd Thursday Evening (if you are able to attend)
7:00pm-9:00pm
Informal Networking – Miami Inn Tavern
Come and network with faculty, alumni, and speakers that are already in town for the conference.
April 4th Friday
9:00-9:45
Keynote Speech: David Haddad – “Sharing Your Miami Education”
David Haddad will talk about his experiences with tutoring students who are materially poor. He will present a brief overview, different dimensions of generational poverty, and how Miami students and alumni can make a significant difference in the life of a youngster through tutoring.
10:00-10:45
1. Lab Session: Dwight Merriman (10gen) – “Cloud Computing Trends & Futures”
In this session we will discuss the trend towards cloud computing and platform computing in the industry, including what Mark Andreessen calls “level 3 platforms”. 10gen, a company in this space co-founded by Dwight, will be examined as a specific example.
2. Career Development: Consulting Panel (Deloitte Consulting) – "The Life of a Consultant"
This panel, comprised of consultants who range in experience from entry-level to Partner, is aimed at providing students with an overview of what it is like to work as a consultant. The alumni will discuss the role of consultants, the advantages of consulting versus industry, and the work/life/travel lifestyle that consultants face every week. After a brief presentation, most of the session will be reserved for general Q&A with the audience.
3. Emerging Technologies: John Crouse (ACS State and Local Solutions) – "Reshaping the IT Landscape"
John is the Chairman of an Emerging Technology Committee for the U.S. Justice Department. He will discuss several key emerging technologies that are reshaping the IT world within government and the private sector.
4. Entrepreneurship: Brian McMillan (ProLink Services) and Scott Miller (Miami Entrepreneurship program) – "The Redhawk Hatchery: Growing Entrepreneurship at Miami"
"The Redhawk Hatchery": An exciting opportunity for CSA students to team with Miami business students to start a business by creating and commercializing software technology. A select group of Information Sciences students will be chosen to participate in this 18 month program. To qualify, you should be passionate about starting your own business, enjoy being part of a team, and possess the technical skills to produce working software application code.
11:00-11:45
1. Lab Session: Larry English and Darren Rehrer (Centric Consulting) – “Business Process Management (BPM)”
Come see one of the hottest trends in business software: BPM. Forrester Research describes BPM as “one of the fastest-growing markets and is establishing itself as the front end to next-generation deployment platforms used to build custom applications.”
2. Career Development: Jon Puz (Harvard Business School) and Disha Patel (Amgen Inc) – “Interested in Business School?”
Ever considered pursuing an MBA, a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), or a PhD in Business? Jon Puz, who is graduating from Harvard Business School in June 2008, and Disha Patel, who graduated from the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School in 2003, will provide insight on what these degrees are, what it takes to get accepted to a top tier business school, and the doors a business education can open for you. Feel free to bring any questions you want answered.
3. Emerging Technologies: Ed Wasser (Qbase, Inc) – “Geographic Information Systems: Map Making in the 21st Century”
The presentation will explore the tools and technologies used to create the maps and imagery found on websites such as Google Maps, Mapquest, and TerraServer-USA. I’ll also describe how to build a GIS-enabled application using open source software and I’ll discuss the impact of recent advances in computing technology on the development of GIS solutions.
4. Entrepreneurship: Kevin Fessenden (UnitedWare) – “Consulting as a Student”
In this session Kevin will be providing a starter guide on entering the world of consulting as a student, either independently or with a consulting firm. He will provide information on how to gain the necessary experience using resources such as the ICCA's new student program, Miami's B1TS organization, and consulting websites focused specifically on students like ConsultantTree.com.
12:00-12:45
1. Lab Session: Josh Brown (Sogeti USA) – “Groovy”
Groovy is a dynamic language that runs on the JVM with powerful features comparable to those found in Python, Ruby, and Smaltalk. It integrates seamlessly with existing Java objects and libraries while providing the agility and flexibility of a dynamic language. Since Groovy compiles to Java bytecode, you can use it anywhere you use Java. During this lab, you'll see how Groovy can simplify development, and you'll get hands on experience with some of Groovy's powerful features.
2. Career Development: Panel Discussion (Progressive Insurance) – “IT Careers within the Insurance Industry”
This is your chance to talk with a panel about IT careers in the insurance industry. The panelists will describe career opportunities in the insurance industry. Panelists are Deron Sohngen - IT Group Manager, Brad Mold - IT Manager, Eric Montgomery - IT Apps Programmer Senior, Emily Midgley - IT Systems Analyst Senior.
3. Emerging Technologies: Andrea Waugh-Metzger and John Fornaro (IBM) – “Web 2.What? - Is Social Software Changing How We Do Business?”
This will be a discussion about the latest trend in businesses and how the use of social software is necessary for those who want to compete in this fast-paced, global, dynamic and "younger" market. We will show what gaps there are in businesses today and how they will be addressed this year and next through Web 2.0 social principles, social software, social networking and overall social initiatives.
4. Real World Case Studies: Steve Brockman (Vital Concepts Associates) – “Doing Business in Developing Countries – Two Steps Forward. One Step Back”
This presentation will begin with a definition of a developing country (versus developed and emerging). Major considerations for doing business will be discussed including: Business Practices and Ethics, Legal Structures and Contracts, Intellectual Property, Capital and Investment, Government Policy and Regulation, Culture and Communications. Case study examples in Russia and China will be presented.
1:00-1:45
1. Lab Session: Dr. Janet Burge (CSA department) – "Usability Lab: Software Engineering Using RATionale (SEURAT)"
Several teams of Miami students have been working on extending and enhancing the SEURAT system as their senior capstone project. They would like to get some feedback on both the usability and utility of the system from Miami alumni working in the field. There will be a sign-up sheet available for any alumni willing to assist us with this project.
2. Career Development: Panel Discussion – "Career Path Case Studies: Journeys Through The Real World"
What can you do with your CSA degree? Join this panel discussion and learn about the diverse and interesting careers followed by five of our graduates. In this session, they will discuss how skills such as communication, time management, and the ability to work well in a team are critical. Via real-life examples, get the perspective of MU CSA alumni on what it takes to succeed. Panelists are: Ted Friedman (Vice President, Gartner Inc), Steve Brockman (Vital Concepts Associates), Tye Monnin (Delivery Manager, Fifth and Third Bank), Joe Hopkins (Eli Lilly and Co), and Robin Smith (Independent Consultant and formerly with P&G)
3. Emerging Technologies: Steven Peter (Hewlett-Packard) – ”Virtualizing Your Data Center”
The state of today's IT department and data center has its inefficiencies. The next generation data center will have an adaptive infrastructure to address the pain points of low utilization rates, high infrastructure costs, base achievement in meeting business expectations, hindered pace of change, and lower system availability. Here, we will focus on bringing the data center to its future state by lending attention to one of several key enablers: virtualization. We will lay the back drop by giving a brief overview of the HP Integrity server group - giving focus to the high availability within the internal components. We will cover the Intel Itanium-2 processor and explain the features within. And then we will explore the Virtual Server Environment which includes four partitioning methods, management software and more.
4. Real World Case Studies: Bryce Williams (Eli Lilly and Company) – "Six Sigma for Improving IT Processes"
Six Sigma is a methodology used throughout the world to improve quality. This presentation will provide a brief overview of Lean Six Sigma. Then Bryce will present a description of the structure of two Lean Six Sigma projects initiated to improve corporate IT Processes for Requirements Management and System Testing. He will reflect on the effectiveness of using Lean Six Sigma for IT Process improvement.
2:00-4:00
1. Employer Networking Session and Career Fair
Interested in career opportunities? Students this will be an opportunity for you to meet with some technology employers around the country.
2. Reception with David Haddad; Student and Faculty Research Posters
Take this time to informally chat with David Haddad our keynote speaker and see what new research our students and faculty are conducting!
3. Resume Workshop
Need advice on your resume? Feel free to stop by to learn effective resume writing techniques as well as have someone review your resume and provide feedback.
4:15-5:00
Dedication ceremony and Open House
Celebrate with us as we dedicate the new CSA department!
