I made a trek to Southern California late last month to participate as a luncheon keynote speaker at the 14th annual Information Technology (ITC) competition taking place at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
As the executive director for the WebProfessional.org and Chair of the WhyITNow.org initiative representing IT jobs, innovation and productivity in California, it was a delight to participate in the event and to mingle with students from colleges around California who participated in the Intercollegiate Information Technology Competition
In this seven minute podcast, I sat down with Zefren Edior, President IT Competition, and Director of Marketing for the Management Information Systems Student Association (MISSA) at Cal Poly Pomona. Zefren is an outstanding representative and has a bright future ahead of him in Information Technology. I walked away inspired by the interview and Zefren’s commentary on the value of the competition, why students should consider a career in Information Technology and what California policy decision makers should know and do to support IT education.
Why Information Technology Now: Interview with Zefren Edior, President IT Competition, and Director of MISSA Caly Poly, Pomna: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadIn addition to introducing the WhyITNow.org initiative several hundred students and faculty and Cal Poly Pomona, I also introduced a state wide “Mobile Innovators” challenge tapping into Cal Poly IT students to demonstrate a Mobile App concept from scratch against the clock while presenting the benefits of the Mobile App challenge and its benefits to small business in front of a live audience.
About Information Technology (ITC) competition
Students from colleges and universities demonstrate their expertise in the Information Technology field. Teams of students receive a case-study (a real-life business project created by a company or organization) to work on within a two-week time period. Their work is then analyzed, judged and critiqued by industry professionals to identify the best entries.
The competition is at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. This is the 14th year of this annual event. The competition includes cases in the following categories:
• Business Systems Analysis
• Computer Forensics
• Web Application Development
• Telecommunications
• Programming
Prizes of $1000, $500, and $250 are awarded for each case.
This competition gives students the opportunity to showcase their talents and skills in front of industry professionals. This experience helps them prepare for their careers, develop their professional network, and increase their knowledge of the Information Technology field
