Mission

The Center’s mission is to provide professional IT services to the government agencies, non-profits and small business enterprises in and around Delaware through active student involvement & learning and applied research.

Purpose of the Center

• Offer professional IT services to non-profits, government agencies, and business organizations located in and around Delaware at affordable cost
• Maintain relationships with government agencies and industry in and around Delaware
• Provide real life experience to students in the area of IT services and project management
• Provide internship and full-time employment opportunities for Information Systems students
• Conduct applied research in the field of Information Systems in collaboration with other scholars in the field
• Promote open-source technologies
• Provide increased visibility to Department of Business Administration in the community
• Strive to secure external funding from Private, State, and Federal agencies

Objectives of the Center

• Provide affordable IT Services at very low pricing structure through student and faculty involvement to government agencies, non-profits and small business enterprises. These services include but not limited to the following:
  • Offer Web Design, Development, Hosting, and Maintenance
  • Offer Information Technology Consulting
  • Offer IT Infrastructure Design and Consulting

• Provide opportunities to CoB Students to gain:
  • Real life work experience in subject specific areas
  • Experience with Open-Source Technologies
  • Experience in the area of client consulting, requirements determination, and project management
  • Improvement in written and oral communication skills
  • Internship and full-time employment opportunities

• Provide opportunities to the Department of Business Administration to:
  • Enhance industry-academic partnership
  • Provide increased visibility to the department’s MIS faculty members
  • Understand industry trends that help in improving course curriculum, new courses, new programs, and teaching methodologies
  • Provide a consistent revenue stream

• Provide opportunities to College of Business and Delaware State University to:
  • Enhance industry-academic partnership
  • Provide increased visibility to the College and University
  • Opportunity for Promoting sponsorships and donations from Private, State, and Federal agencies

Relation to Department programs and course curriculum

The center will be housed in the Department of Business Administration, College of Business. Students involved in the activities of the center will augment their academic knowledge with real life experience in different areas of MIS such as Web-Design and development, system analysis and design, networking and telecommunications, and database development depending on specific requirements of the clients. Through their involvement in the center, students will be exposed to emerging and existing open-source technologies, thereby enhancing their skills. Oral and written communication, an integral part of DSU’s academic, will also be enhanced for the students participating in the center’s activities.

The center will also provide research opportunities and challenges to the existing MIS faculty of the department through collaborations. Industry interactions will also enhance faculty understanding of industry needs which in turn will help design better curriculum.