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Presentations at ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ

Industry partners often will do presentations in which they describe their corporate environment, products, and processes for hiring.   Alternately, some partners do technical presentations of a technology which is relevant to their business.   A single presentation or an annual presentation to the computer science majors is a great way to reach out to them and familiarize them with your company.

Industry experts serve as guest speakers in classes

Many classes in the computer science curriculum can greatly benefit by presenting the viewpoint of an industry expert.   For instance, courses in web design, computer networking, database systems, cybersecurity, and machine learning all deal with quickly changing concepts where industry experience can be very helpful.    Volunteering as a guest speaker in a class improves the quality of the class and the learning experience of the student, and also provides exposure for your company.

Student trips to corporate sites

Identify key areas of study within curriculum

The Computer Science curriculum at ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ follows the model laid out by the ACM Curricula Recommendations.   A lot of variance, however, is allowed within those recommendations.  For instance, in computer networking, should the instructor spend more time emphasizing protocol design, socket programming, or network performance analysis?   As industry experts, you can provide invaluable guidance as to the relative importance of subject matter to the working professional.    The Department has developed course outlines for each course listing the time to be spent on each topic, which we will provide for your review.   We would welcome your suggestions regarding the importance of each topic or in identifying any omissions.

Identify key skills necessary for success

Similar to the above, course instructors teach students various skill sets in their courses but have wide latitude in choosing what skills to teach.    While programming is of course emphasized, we would welcome your advice on the relative importance of code review, debugging, generating quality documentation, use of network simulators, web design tools, database systems, security packages, mathematical analysis packages, or even the relative advantages of different IDEs.   Again, as industry professionals working on real products, you have insight that would be very valuable to our instructors and students.

Participate on the Industry Advisory Board

Members of the Board attend 1-2 meetings a year on the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ campus providing valuable input regarding the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in Computer Science.  Companies represented on the board gain valuable access to the hundreds of students pursuing their degrees in Computer Science at ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ.   Board members also gain the ability to evaluate potential employees through internships and other interactions.

Student mentorship program

Developing a mentorship relationship with a Computer Science student is an excellent way to both provide support and guidance to a worthy student, and to evaluate a potential new employee.   The Department has many students who have expressed interest in a mentorship program, and can tailor a mentorship program to an industry partner’s goals.   For instance, if your company hoped to support women in Computer Science or other under-represented groups, the Department could recruit mentees who match your requirements.  Mentorship interaction would typically occur via social media and hence would not require a large investment of time by any one mentor.  Mentorship programs can easily be scaled from small to large depending on your company’s interest.

Provide case studies or projects for use in classes

Many Computer Science courses at ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ address current topics in industry, from computer networking to machine learning, to software engineering.   As industry experts, you have experience with real-world problems.  Providing outlines of these problems to be used as case studies or the bases for programming or research projects would help to improve the quality of class assignments.    Completion of practical industry-based assignments would also help our students to become more effective employees once they join the workforce.

Industry experts teach courses at ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ

ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Computer Science is always looking for qualified instructors to teach both the basic Computer Science curriculum as well as special topics classes.  As industry experts, you are in an excellent position to pass your skills on to our students.    As an instructor, you have the opportunity to evaluate possible interns or permanent employees while helping our students to learn industry standards or new technologies.   

Develop internship program

ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Computer Science encourages all our majors to seek internships while pursuing their degree programs.   Internships provide the students with the opportunity to learn about industry standards for coding, documentation, and testing, as well as to work on real-world projects.   They benefit from working on teams, and further developing the communications skills they need to be effective in the industry environment.    Company partners have the opportunity to evaluate potential employees and develop relationships with them towards possible permanent employment.   Internship programs can easily be scaled from small (e.g., 1 internship opportunity a year) to large depending on your company’s interest.

Recruit for permanent positions

One-time scholarship or award

ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Computer Science students come from all walks of life, and often depend upon financial aid in order to fund their degrees.   The Department greatly appreciates any assistance that can be provided to them in this regard.   The department scholarship and award committee evaluates potential applicants and selects the awardee according to donor requirements.   A one-time scholarship or award is a great way to determine if your company is interested in this kind of support.   Such awards also increase the visibility of your company to the student community.

Endowed scholarship or award

The majority of ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Computer Science students rely upon financial aid in order to pursue their degrees.   If your company would be interested in supporting an on-going or endowed scholarship or award, you could make a big difference in the lives of many students.  The department scholarship and award committee would evaluate potential applicants and select the awardee according to your requirements.  Endowed scholarships and awards also increase the visibility of your company to the student community.  Award opportunities are advertised throughout the year to the students, and presented awards are posted to the department website.

Named research or teaching lab space

As a state-supported institution, the Department is always in need of funds to improve teaching and research space.   If your company would be interested in funding the renovation of a research or teaching lab, the Department would work with the College of Science to provide naming rights to the room.   Named facilities greatly increase the visibility of your company to the students. 

Endowed professorships

If your company is interested in providing the opportunity for faculty and students to participate in more intensive research activities, an endowed professorship could be of interest.   Endowment funds may be used to fund a professor for summer research work or to modify their teaching load to allow for more time spent on research activities.   Endowed professorships are listed in the catalog and department website providing increased visibility for your company.