Illinois State University recently hosted the Central Illinois High School Cyber Defense Competition. The competition is modeled on the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. Teams from central Illinois high schools competed against each other on their ability to defend their computers and networks against hacking attacks from a “red team” consisting of School of Information Technology students majoring in Information Assurance & Security. Teams are scored on their ability to keep critical programs and services running and their ability to protect them from attacks.

The competition was organized byDr. Douglas Twitchell and Dr. Glen Sagers of the School of Information Technology and  funded by the National Security Agency.

Read about local participants here.

School of Information Technology student Rebecca Duxler was named one of two Robert Half Technology/AITP Scholarship recipients during the 2012 AITP National Collegiate Conference  on Friday, March 30, 2012 in San Antonio, Texas.

Each year, Robert Half Technology and the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) offer two $2,500 scholarships to two outstanding AITP Student Members pursuing studies in Information Technology. The scholarships awarded are based on demonstrated academic achievement, leadership activities, community service and future career interests.

The School of Information Technology congratulates Rebecca Duxler on this achievement.

Jennilee Benda, a Junior Information Systems major in the School of Information Technology, earned the 3rd place award for Computer Concepts at the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) 2012 State Leadership Conference, held at Thelma Keller Convention Center in Effingham, IL , April 13 – 14, 2012. She now advances to the national competition.

The Computer Concepts competition provides recognition for PBL members who demonstrate an understanding of computer technology principles that are integral to the successful operation of business.

Contestants were ranked according to their performance on an objective test covering the competencies of: basic computer principles, terminology, hardware, software (applications & operating systems), networking systems & procedures, troubleshooting and ethics.

Ms. Benda was also elected Illinois Phi Beta Lambda State Secretary for 2012-2013.

The School of Information Technology will host a commencement reception for our May & August graduates and their families prior to the commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 12. The reception will be held in the Circus Room of the Bone Student Center from 10:30-11:30 am.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend. Join our students and their families in celebrating their achievement at this important milestone in their life.

Employers expect to hire 10.2 percent more new college graduates from the college Class of 2012 than they did from the Class of 2011, according to NACE’s Job Outlook 2012 Spring Update.
Read the complete article.

Caterpillar Inc. has partnered with the School of Information Technology to aid students in making the transition from the academic world to the professional world by sponsoring the “Transition to Professionalism” presentation and dinner.

Dr. Debbie Lindberg of the ISU Accounting Department will present her program entitled “Transition to Professionalism” on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. Dr. Lindberg will give a presentation and lead discussion covering the topics of Interviewing tips, Dressing for success, Technology etiquette and Dining etiquette. Immediately following the discussion, students will dine with recruiting representatives of Caterpillar Inc. The meal will be conducted as a formal business dinner and provide students an opportunity to practice their social skills.

18 School of Information Technology students entered the MAD Contest, sponsored by State Farm, on Feb. 3, 2012. The objective of the contest is for students to develop a working mobile application that promotes good behavioral habits. Contest sponsor State Farm has provided a Sony Tablet, a Samsung Galaxy and an ASUS Eee pad as prizes for the developers of the winning applications.

The first phase of the contest was the analysis and design presentations. On March 1, contestants presented their project design to a panel of IT faculty who selected contest finalists based on the judging criteria of:

• Does the proposed application promote and develop good behavioral habits?
• Is the proposed application practical?
• Is it feasible to develop the proposed application in the allotted time?
• Quality of the analysis and design process
• Quality of the presentation to the judging panel

The finalists selected by the faculty judging panel will continue on to develop working mobile applications which they will present to a panel of State Farm IT professionals who will select the winning applications. Final application presentations will take place on Friday, April 20 in Stevenson Hall Rm-401 at 6:00 PM. All faculty, staff and students are invited to attend.

Contest finalists and their mobile applications are:

• Andrew Erickson   -   GymTrak
• Chris Magee   -   Drinking Buddy
• Seth Hare   -   Frugality
• Shreeti Banerjee   -   Challenge My Walk
• Brian Jesse   -   Mobile Goals
• Andrew Sampson   -   Next Step
• Dheeraj Vatti   -   Expense Tracker
• Surekha Methuku   -   NFC Coupon

School of Information Technology graduate students Kushal Panchal, Ji Zheng, Shreeti Banerjee and Laura Hanna are part of a team lead by John Kostelnick, assistant professor in the Department of Geography-Geology and director of GEOMAP at Illinois State, that is developing a web-based mapping system to help the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) coordinate efforts statewide in preparing and responding to emergencies.

Read more here.

Illinois State University’s Board of Trustees has approved center status for the Center for Applied Information Systems Technology.

The Center for Applied Information Systems Technology (CAIST) will advance information technology education, training, consulting and applied research for business, education and government. The Center also supports the Illinois Critical Skills Shortages Initiative that identified information technology as one of the key sectors to spur economic development. Housed in the College of Applied Science and Technology, the Center will provide academic support through out-of-class learning experiences, collaborative research in information technology and contracted services for internal and external constituencies.