IMC Presentation Is Highlight of Century Club Kickoff

By Trish Shuman

What do business-education partnerships, student-corporate project teams, and the Internet have in common? They all are powerful resources that were featured at the Century Club of George Mason University's 1998-99 fall kickoff meeting, held recently at Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. More than 150 Century Club members, George Mason partners, and friends attended the event, which was sponsored by Cable & Wireless USA.

Highlighting the evening were the student presentations made as part of Mason's Internet Multimedia Center (IMC) partnership showcase. The IMC is an arts-based research center within the Art and Visual Technologies Division of the Institute of the Arts (IOA).

"The center provides real-world educational experiences for Mason students by enabling them to work on unique arts-based research projects for local firms seeking innovative multimedia and Internet-based expertise," says Scott Martin, IMC director. "The combination of traditional art disciplines and contemporary technologies generates the invaluable creative energy and unique perspectives that innovative IT firms crave, and participants gain valuable collaborative experiences and challenging project objectives that complement their curriculum."

Last spring, Century Club members were informed of the opportunity to submit project proposals to the IMC. Three Century Club companies--Cable & Wireless USA, Datatel, and Market-Wise--were among the first firms whose projects were selected by the IMC. At the Century Club's kickoff meeting, corporate representatives from each company joined their student team members to present the results of their collaborations and express the benefits of working together. Project managers Ari Ramsey, Patricia Stoughton, and Steve Ellison introduced their student colleagues and described their projects from a technical and educational perspective.

"I've learned how to become a better manager," stated Ramsey in his presentation, "and also how to work collaboratively with a team, and how to focus on the different skills of my team members." Ramsey, who led the MarketWise student team, added, "While helping MarketWise develop its electronic newsletters, we learned how to make transitions from 3-D modeling and animation packages to finished animated GIF and background images." He strongly believes that he and his teammates have benefited much from the technical expertise they gained through the real-world business components of their research.

MarketWise president Katherine McGeehan said she learned about the partnership activity through her membership in the Century Club, and that her work with the IMC "exemplifies the true spirit of the Century Club...bringing students, faculty, and business together in a partnership that is mutually beneficial."

The kickoff event also featured remarks by George Mason president Alan Merten, as well as Tom Malone, president of Cable & Wireless USA Commercial Internet and Messaging Services, and Century Club president Barry Fake. Merten encouraged pros-pective business members to "make a difference" and become active in the Century Club. From his perspective as manager of Cable & Wireless USA's $1.75-billion Internet business, Malone shared his thoughts about the power of the Internet. Fake explained the mission of the Century Club--to foster program-related partnerships between business and George Mason--and described some of the partnership activity planned for 1998-99.

"The professionalism of the student teams and the invaluable firsthand knowledge they gained from participating in such real-world projects really impressed me," said IOA director Betsy Brininger. "IOA's mission is to enrich each student's life, and I'm delighted to learn that these cooperative efforts supported that mission."