Industry Connections Report | 2019

CONNECTIONS 2019

SHOWCASE: SPOTL IGHT ON CLASSROOM CONNECT IONS

When outside speakers enter our classrooms, they engage our faculty, staff and student leaders in solving the dynamic challenges of industry and society. Examples of these types of engagements include: Students majoring in computer networking and information technology were part of a capstone class in which they were assigned a problem that a company needed solved. Students were divided into five teams and worked with Dell, Heartland Business Systems, Marshfield Clinic, Menards and Target. The student-company collaborations included weekly updates, a white paper report, a live demo of a solution and a final presentation to company officials. Some of the students were simultaneously interning at the five companies. Meg Floersch and Tyler Vucinovich grew up in the Twin Cities, where they shopped often at Target, the nation’s second-largest retailer based in downtown Minneapolis. After they left the metro area, however, and went 75 miles east to study apparel design and development at UW-Stout, they found themselves closer to Target than they’ve ever been: inside the company’s headquarters. Recently, Professor Jongeun Rhee organized a contest in the class Computer Aided Design for Fashion. Target’s textile development team provide guidance and feedback

Professionals from WESTconsin Credit Union based in Menomonie presented four lectures in a general education Financial Wellness class. “We have employees who are passionate about helping others, so many of them jump at the chance to present financial wellness topics,” said Lora Benrud, WESTconsin CEO.

Chelse Cockeram, of WESTconsin Credit Union in Menomonie, presents information about identity theft and fraud to students.

SHOWCASE: A DAY WI TH TARGET DESIGNERS

to students. At the end of the class, two Target designers came to campus to judge the students’ work. Floersch and Vucinovich came out on top and earned the chance to spend a day job- shadowing professional designers. The entire contest was educational, Floersch and Vucinovich said. The chance to go to Target and see designers at work gave them priceless insight into their career field. “It was great seeing the entire design process come together. It was an inspiration,” Floersch said.

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