Learning within a classroom is essential to understanding the fundamentals of any subject. But when there is an opportunity to put those lessons into motion, the experience can be life changing.

At the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Technology Services has partnered with the Math and Computer Science Department to provide students valuable experience in preparing them for success after graduation – all while making a real difference on campus.

The partnership, headed by Mike Poaletti, director of application development, and Steve Rosenberg, Ph.D., professor of math and computer science, aims to provide students with hands-on development skills. The first of these projects is an IT asset management (ITAM) application that will launch later this month.

“I was pleased last spring when Mike Poaletti reached out to my department with the broad goal of improving university operations through a mutually beneficial collaboration,” said Rosenberg. “There are plenty of opportunities at UW-Superior for improving processes through technology, which collectively are just too much work for the professional staff alone. Enter the computer science students, all of whom need to complete a capstone experience and most of whom would be eager to add an internship to their resume.”

For students like Sarah Schlueter, the program has already provided real-world experience.

“I developed a windows service application version of their new IT Asset Management application,” said Schlueter, a senior from Minneapolis majoring in computer science with a self-designed minor in technical communication. “The service app is designed to automatically pull system information from the device it’s installed on and add/update it in the inventory database. I also created a boilerplate web application that is to be used as a starting point for future projects. One of which will be the next project I am working on in collaboration with Dr. Rosenberg’s Software Development (CSCI 340) students. This project is a student employee scheduling application.”

Expanding Student Opportunities

While the partnership will benefit students with real-world experience, it will also help to improve operations for UW-Superior faculty and staff.

“Partnering with the Math and the Computer Science Department gives our students a clear advantage over other universities while solving problems creating and deploying software for the university,” said Poletti. “Dr. Steve Rosenberg’s students in capstone courses, the software engineering course and internships – along with AppDev – student employees graduate with a leg up in a competitive job market by knowing web-based development, database operations, naming conventions, secure coding principals, laws and policies.”   

Jay Conley, IT director of professional services and support, was the first client. UWS needed an IT Asset Management application (ITAM). The web-based dashboard IT Professional Services will use to manage the assets was developed by UW-Superior student Amanda Rice and will reside on a hybrid combination of a local server and the cloud. Everyone was impressed by the high quality of the work.

“Throughout the process I experienced some of the stages of a software development project,” said Rice. “Stages such as planning by discovering the requirements, development, testing and adjusting based on feedback. I appreciate everyone’s time and effort helping me develop new skills and preparing me for real life projects.”

Conley was not only happy with the results of this project. He sees a great future in this collaborative partnership.

“The department benefits not only from the additional workers, but also from the fresh perspectives and spirit of innovation, collaboration, and adaptability that students bring to the table,” he said. “We plan this to be just the first of many projects. We look forward to working with Professor Rosenberg and his students to strengthen the university and provide students with the knowledge to excel in their careers.”

That experience will prove invaluable for graduating students.

“I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work with the Technology Services department on my senior capstone,” said Rice. “I not only learned many new skills I wouldn’t have learned otherwise, but I was also able to experience what it was like to work on a real-world project with other people.”

UW-Superior’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science offers majors and minors in computer science, mathematics and mathematics 4-12 education, as well as collaborative graduate programs in cybersecurity and information technology management. With instructors whose research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and who are accomplished mathematicians and computer science professionals, students have the opportunity to learn fundamentals as well as explore special interests and advanced courses. Students benefit from learning in a small, supportive environment where instructors get to know them and take a vested interest in their success.