By Andrea Janus
Get ready for more techno-wizards and cyber-specialists to be filling the halls of South Kerr.
The school of Information Technology Management announced last week that three new streams will be available to students working towards a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in ITM.
In addition to application development, and telecommunications and networking, student now have the option of choosing digital media solutions, knowledge and database management and enterprise solutions and Organizations.
Ken Grant, director of the School of ITM, believes the changes are necessary for the program to remain one of the best of its kind in the kind in the country.
“We want to retain our position as the leading business and IT school, and you do that by evolving,” Grant says.
Students who choose the Digital Media Solutions stream will be taught the business, technical and creative skills needed to work in digital media. The knowledge and database-management option will teach students to manage information and data for a company, while the Enterprise Solutions and Organizations stream is designed to explore the role of technology in large enterprises.
Grant says there are three main reasons for the expansion of the program. First of all, he wants to accommodate the double cohort.
“We’re looking at taking an additional 80 students per year,” he says.
As well, when the program began four years ago, part of its mandate was to expand once it survived its fledgling years. The program will have its first graduating class this spring.
Grant says the constant changes in the field of ITM require schools to keep up with the changing technology so graduates have the right skills for their first job.
Students who begin the program this fall, along with students who started last September, will follow the new curriculum. All students will take the same classes in first and second year and then specialize in one of the five disciplines. Most third and fourth year students will remain in their current programs, but have the option of switching if they want.
First-year ITM student Victoria Zamudio says the course she’s taking are preparing her well for a career, and that changes to the curriculum will only make things better.
“I think they’re doing a really good job with that. I like the fact that it’s a lot of hands-on stuff,” she says.
The school will also accommodate 40 students from community colleges who want to upgrade their diplomas to degrees. Over the next two years, Grant would like that number to double.
Three or four new teachers will be hired over the next three years to handle the influx of new students.
Professionals from the ITM industry, as well as current students and graduates from other programs, were consulted about the need to develop a new curriculum, and courses will be designed with the help of industry insiders.
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