IT Practice Center celebrates 10 years
Since 1998, the Information Technology Practice Center (ITPC) has helped UW-Parkside students gain valuable project-based experience at private companies and nonprofit organizations. Part of the Ralph Jaeschke Solutions for Economic Growth Center in the School of Business and Technology, ITPC assigns business and computer science students, backed by their faculty, to real world projects.
UW-Parkside School of Business and Technology Dean Fred Ebeid said the ITPC gives students the kind of learning they want.
"Students like the idea of working on a real project for a real company and they like to see that their efforts pay off for a company," Ebeid said. "It's a proud moment for them when they are able to present their findings, the company embraces them, and adopts them. It's wonderful experience."
"Nonprofits and small businesses are looking for somebody to help them out because they don't have a big budget and we're a resource for the community fulfilling our mission as a UW System school," said ITPC Director and Associate Dean Dirk Baldwin. "Bigger companies sometimes want to tap into the faculty's knowledge in an area and sometimes it's because they have a project or two that have been on the back burner and they haven't been able to designate enough people resources to the project."
Whatever the reason, ITPC projects provide valuable experience. Baldwin uses the systems analysis and design class as an example.
"Many universities teach that by book problems and case studies. But it's a whole different thing to have to go out and interview the clients, dig through their current system or current documents, and try to figure out the requirements of the system and what kind of system they should propose to meet those requirements," Baldwin said.
Along with hands-on experience, ITPC projects help students polish their "soft skills" in teamwork, leadership, communication, and presentation.
The ITPC originally was a collaboration between UW-Parkside, Harley-Davidson, Johnson Professional, and Snap-on Tools. Over the years, a strong relationship has formed with the Small Business Development Center and Racine's Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation (CATI)--ITPC students designed CATI's computer network. The partnership now includes JohnsonDiversey, Snap-on, and Twin Disc. The Center also works closely with Modine Manufacturing.
One measure of the ITPC's success is its continuing growth.
"The first year or two, we did two projects a year. Now, we're up to 15 projects a semester and virtually all of UW-Parkside's IT-related professors, at some point, do these kinds of projects with their students," Baldwin said.
Baldwin points with particular pride to an ITPC project completed for Modine in which Professor Suresh Chalasani and a team of students developed web-based decision support tools to speed product design. Along with projects done for Harley and its current partners JohnsonDiversey, Snap-on, and Twin Disc, the Center has worked with SC Johnson, Dremel, many small businesses, nonprofits, and on university-related research.
Most ITPC projects are handled by UW-Parkside undergraduates making it unique among universities with IT centers. Such facilities, Baldwin said, are usually staffed with grad students and tend to emphasize research.
Using the ITPC as a model, Dean Ebeid said UW-Parkside has already created a practice center for marketing. He envisions similar centers for accounting, lean manufacturing, supply chain management, finance, and others as the university adapts to the market's changing needs.
"As business evolves and the needs of business change," Ebeid said, "we'll change with it to provide what they need."