News
AIS receives Outstanding Chapter award for the third consecutive year
The Association for Information Systems, and the AIS Student Chapters Awards Committee, has once again awarded Temple AIS with the Outstanding Chapter Award for the 2011/2012 academic year. This is the third consecutive year that Temple AIS has received this award from AIS, out of 75 AIS student chapters in North America and around the world.
The notable accomplishments for Temple AIS include:
- Significant growth to about 150 members
- Successful launch of exciting real world consulting: IT Services
- Dominant performance in the 2012 International AIS Competition (winning two 1st place finishes and a 2nd place finish out of four competition tracks)
- Expansion of community service initiatives
- Outstanding industry speaker series and the addition of a weekly IT workshop program for student members
- The best ‘social season’ yet, with well attended monthly events that included rock climbing, paintball, bowling, and dinner events
The current officers of AIS include:
- Ryan Oliveira, President
- Scott Raff, VP Operations
- Czarina Agravante, VP Finance
- Roman Nicholas, VP IT Services
100% placement – Congratulations to the class of May 2012!
100% of the students who graduated the Fox School’s Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Major in Management Information Systems (MIS) in Spring 2012 have been placed in excellent jobs!
- 46% accepted jobs with titles that include analyst, consultant, or leadership
- 79% had a GPA above 3.0
- $52,735 average salary, $55,000 median
- Comcast, Deloitte, JP Morgan Chase, and Vanguard hired more than one student
- 25% went into the pharmaceutical / health-care industry, 18% into financial services, and 18% into consulting
IT Career Fair promotes Fox School students’ e-portfolios
What better place for a career fair to go high-tech than one for IT-centric students?
Temple’s Fox School of Business hosted its first IT Career Fair on Wednesday and, in another first, business students with majors and minors related to information systems carried business cards with QR codes for recruiters, who were equipped with iPads to scan the codes and access students’ e-portfolios.
Also known as electronic resumes, e-portfolios allow students to manage their online identities and showcase experiences and sample work in a more dynamic format than a LinkedIn profile.
“We do a lot of career fairs and sometimes it’s tough to keep track of who you met, and this helps put a face to a resume,” said Paul Zaengle, vice president of U.S. Resource Management for global management and technology consultancy LiquidHub, one of nearly 20 recruiters at the event. “It’s my first time using e-portfolios at any career fair. It’s easy to use, and the iPad integrates some cool technology into the career fair.”
The e-portfolio initiative, overseen by the Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT), includes custom design elements and a search engine for employers to find students by relevant criteria. There are 1,023 e-portfolios in active use.
Angelika Dimoka and Paul Pavlou receive grant to study TV advertising
Angelika Dimoka, Paul Pavlou and Vinod Venkatraman received a $350,000 grant from the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) to investigate the marketing success of TV advertising. The Center for Neural Decision Making (CNDM) will establish a model to predict the success of TV advertising by evaluating multiple TV ads with multiple neurophysiological tools. Participating firms include major companies in the technology, financial, pharmaceutical, and consumer goods industries.
IT Auditing and Cyber-Security program aligns with international association ISACA
The Master of Science in Information Technology Auditing and Cyber-Security (ITACS) at the Fox School of Business is aligned with the curriculum set forth by ISACA, the international governing organization for IT assurance that designs and awards the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certification.
Officially aligning with the organization responsible for the CISA designation is important, ITACS Director Richard Flanagan said. One great benefit is that graduates of Temple’s ITACS program are required only two years of work experience before they can earn their CISA designation from ISACA, instead of the usual five years.
“It’s a big deal,” Flanagan said. “Information systems have become increasingly important to businesses, and firms sometimes spend more on information systems staff than any other department. What students are learning at Fox is what ISACA thinks they should be learning.”
The ITACS program began in January 2012. For 10 months, students from around the world learn to assess, manage and control IT risks while preparing for the CISA exam.
The strengths of the ITACS program and its faculty benefit undergraduate students, too. It was with the help of Flanagan that Kazuhiko Koyanagi, a management information systems and accounting double major, won a $2,500 Fall 2011 tuition scholarship from the Philadelphia chapter of ISACA for his essay, “Secure Mobile Device Management in This Information-Driven Era.” Koyanagi was recognized for the accomplishment in June 2012.
In addition, the ITACS program is now recognized by the U.S. government as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degree, which means that international students are granted 17 additional months of Optional Practical Training, which allows them to work at U.S. firms without needing a special visa.
“Our international students can now work for almost two and a half years for an American company before needing sponsorship,” Flanagan said.
IT Career Fair on October 10, 2012
The Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) announces the Fox IT Career Fair on October 10, 2012, 11am-3pm, Alter Hall. Interact with top employers who are specifically interested in recruiting Fox MIS, ITACS, ITM, Digital Marketing, and ITIE students (majors and minors, grad and undergrad).
Employers from GSK, Lockheed Martin, AstraZeneca, Cigna, ARAMARK, Deloitte, Dow, and Merck are attending as well as many others to recruit for full-time and internship positions. See http://ibit.temple.edu/careerfair for a complete list of employers. These employers are coming because they have made a commitment to your program and major, and to the Fox Department of Management Information Systems.
To participate in this career fair you will need:
- To be CSPD’d
- An approved eportfolio listed on the Fox MIS Community eportfolio site at: http://community.mis.temple.edu/eportfolios/
- Completed registration on http://ibit.temple.edu/careerfair/about/attendance-and-registration/. The deadline is September 28, 2012.
In order to have an approved eportfolio you must submit it to the above site for approval. Please be sure to read all of the points on the samples and resources page before submitting your eportfolio.
Each student that registers by the deadline will receive free special business cards to hand out to employers at the Fox IT Career Fair. These special cards will list your name, major, email address and will have a QR code so that the employer can scan it with an iPAD and see your eportfolio while they are speaking to you. Only these special business cards are allowed at the career fair.
Digital Business Strategy by Niraj Patel
MIS 5108: Digital Business Strategy on Mondays 6:00pm to 8:30pm at Temple Center City
Technology creates new business opportunities. Learn to be an Digital Business Strategy leader from Digital Business Strategy leaders. See how they exploit the power of technology to create new products and services.
- Learn best practices from industry experts in a workshop format
- Analyze and evaluate leading edge digitally enabled business models in multiple industries including small start-ups and the largest most successful digital business titans
- Formulate new digital business strategy for your firm or in specific industries based on your interest and knowledge
- Apply web 2.0, social media, and analytics as strategic levers in digital business models
Tentative list of guest speakers
- Ravi Bala, Chief Operating Officer, HealthSignals
- Joshua Palau, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Comcast
- Imad Farhat, Director, Firmenich
- Patrick M. Donohue, Vice President of National Accounts and Inventory Sales, MAACO
- Jim Datin, Executive Vice President, Safeguard Scientifics
- James Hayden, Senior Vice President Global Sales and Marketing, Certara (Tripos-Simcyp-Pharsight)
- Mary Hagy, CEO, cWyze Inc.
The course will be taught as a practical workshop. You will analyze existing digital business strategies in the first half of the course. In the second half of the course, you will put on the master training wheels and repeatedly construct and deconstruct new digital business strategies. The course will feature a who’s who list of guest speakers and analysts who will help you evaluate and construct digital business strategy.
About Niraj Patel
Niraj Patel, Co-founder of ISGN, is a leader in building global technology and services businesses especially in the mortgage and financial technology industries. He has more than 20 years’ experience in applying corporate management, entrepreneurship, and technology as business accelerators to generate organic and externally driven growth and investments. At ISGN, Niraj has deployed over $90 million in funding, and generated more than $100 million in revenue.
Niraj is also a founding partner of Witmer Partners. Witmer is responsible for launching 4 startups in the mortgage industry including Selene opportunity fund ($850 million), Selene finance, Helios (3x exit in 3 years) and Tavernier.
Prior to this Niraj was a part of the founding team of GMAC Commercial mortgage as executive vice-president and chief information officer. He was a key contributor to the organization’s international growth by consistently delivering double-digit net income growth for over 13 years and sold to private equity in 2006. At GMAC Commercial, Niraj was also responsible for spinning off several new startups (MortgageRamp, Gtel, Epitome Systems, EnableUs, olive), all of which had successful exits to growth equity and corporate community.
Recognized as an award winning innovator and viewed as one of the leading technologists of his generation, Niraj serves on boards and panels, speaks at industry conferences and is frequently quoted. These include the HSBC PA & DE Advisory Board; Microsoft Executive Circle; Eastern Technology Council; the Information Technology Advisory Board of the Fox School of Business, Temple University; the NPower CIO Advisory Council and his executive board experience includes: the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) Board of Directors, EnableUS, Epitome Systems, Savana, MortgageRamp, Deskom and GTEL. Niraj graduated with a BBA in information systems and Finance from the Fox School of Business, Temple University.
Fox AIS student chapter earns top honors in global contest
Fifteen students from the Fox School’s Association for Information Systems (AIS) student chapter recently traveled to Provo, Utah, where they participated in the first-ever international AIS student chapter competition and earned first or second place in each of the categories they entered. The event included approximately 150 participants from 24 schools.
AIS is the premier global organization for information systems. The Fox School’s AIS chapter was the first student chapter in the world and was named a 2010 and 2011 Outstanding Chapter. This April, four teams of students advanced to the AIS competition finals in three categories: Mobile App, IT Video and IT Risk. Three of the four teams came out on top and earned international recognition with first- and second-place wins during the annual AIS student leadership conference.
Fox’s Mobile App team, which developed Sutify – an app to manage users’ professional wardrobes – and the IT Video team, which produced a video promoting IT as a career choice, won first place in their respective categories. One of the two IT Risk teams won second place in the IT Risk category for a detailed case study.
I have to say they were dominant in every facet of the conference
E. Carey O’Donnell, AIS chapter faculty advisor, Assistant Professor.
In addition to making it to the finals in Utah and winning first and second place in their target categories, Temple’s AIS students also presented at two sessions during the conference, held in conjunction with the competition. One of the presenters was Michelle Dy-Reyes, outgoing president of Temple AIS.
The recent AIS student chapter competition awards were a direct reflection of the drive, talent and competitive spirit of our AIS chapter here at Temple. We have been able to cultivate critical thinkers with keen eyes for award-winning technology solutions.
Michelle Dy-Reyes, AIS President
Students were able to network with leading executives, including the chief information officer of Walmart, Karenann Terrel, who mentioned the Fox students in her conference speech. The students also attracted attention and praise from AIS Executive Director Pete Tinsley.
Winning awards in three out of the four competitions makes the chapter one of the most decorated this year. Temple continues to be a shining example of an outstanding AIS student chapter of which others should strive to emulate.
Pete Tinsley, AIS Executive Director
For the Mobile App team, this competition was a tremendous boost to the recognition they have received since launching Suitify. The app, which allows users to store their wardrobe options, save outfits and plan clothing choices in a calendar format, has been approved for display in the Windows Phone marketplace. To date it has received an average 4.8 out of 5 rating. The app’s first-place win at the AIS competition was attributed, in part, to the group’s strong business model and projected success.
We have plans to continue developing the app, to finish fleshing out our business model of saving users’ wardrobe data and implementing a clothing suggestion feature.
Andy Roche, Suitify team member
In terms of national prominence, this competition was the Fox School AIS chapter’s biggest success yet, and the students are eager to continue competing, O’Donnell said. The winning Fox School AIS teams were:
- Mobile App first-place team: Andrew Roche, Scott Raff and John Shaw
- IT Video first-place team: Ryan Oliviera, Matt Adrien and Sara Rezaeian
- IT Risk second-place team: Valerie Spinosi, Menora Labrooy and Haoren Yu
- IT Risk finalists: Roman Nicholas, Czarina Agravante, Courtney Minich and Natalie Divalentino
Faculty news – O’Donnell, Wattal, Flanagan, Pavlou, Dimoka, Johnson, Schuff, and Mandviwalla
- Carey O’Donnell to speak at the NFAIS Conference on a pilot program on the use of iPad’s and all-digital content in the classroom, June 15th, 2012.
- Sunil Wattal spoke on Crowdfunding: A New Era of Democratized Entrepreneurship at the Knowledge Leadership Series organized by the International Executive Education Center, Singapore, May 30, 2012.
- Rich Flanagan spoke about IT Governance at Beijing National Accounting Institute, May 25, 2012.
- Paul Pavlou was quoted in a Philadelphia Business Journal article on Big Data, May 25, 2012.
- Angelika Dimoka recently had a paper accepted at MISQ: How to Conduct a functional Magnetic Resonance (fMRI) Study in Social Science Research, MIS Quarterly (forthcoming)
- Steven L. Johnson wrote an open editorial on The rise and fall of Facebook, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 22, 2012. He was quoted in an article on social media by the Philadelphia Business Journal, May 4, 2012 and was also quoted by Advertising Age on brand management in social media, April 23, 2012
- David Schuff and Munir Mandviwalla spoke about Making Education Social: The FoxMIS Community Site, at the Campus Technology Forum – Los Angeles, CA, May 1, 2012 (click here for the video) and will present on the same topic at the Campus Technology Forum, Boston, MA, July 16, 2012.
- David Schuff was cited by Find-MBA on the value of MBA programs with an IT focus, April 23, 2012.