University of Nebraska at Kearney Students Travel to InfoTec 2013

This week the Information Networking & Telecommunication (INT) students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) received an exciting opportunity to attend InfoTec (infotec.org) hosted by AIM in Omaha, NE. Although at first reluctant to wake up so early, 4 cars of students started on the trek to Omaha on April 16th in the early hours and arrived safely in time for the first breakout session.

The number of INT students at InfoTec was exciting to see. It was even more awesome that the students chose to represent the INT program at UNK by wearing their blue INT polos. As the semester ends and some of the students graduate, it is my hope that they took something of value away from the conference. Perhaps one student heard a new idea that will spark a new invention in the future. Perhaps another heard about a new piece of technology and will go on to implement this for their employer. Perhaps another simply enjoyed being around other professionals in the field that she might pursue.

The experience of InfoTec is something that I will encourage INT students to attend. The conference would be a good experience for any student that is interested in the information technology (IT) field. I, for one, have already bookmarked next year's date on my calendar. 

Technology Networking Breakfast 2013

The day of February 21, 2013 fast approaches and with it our Technology Networking Breakfast planned for 8:30am. Hopefully, the impending snow storm does not dampen our plans and our professionally excellent breakfast is allowed to proceed. Oftentimes lots of people work together to make an event like this happen so this brief entry is dedicated to our staff (you know who you are) who work so hard every year to make sure that we have refreshments, a room, name tags, invitations and attendees (both students and companies).

If you have not done so, check out the list of companies under the Internships link. A stellar group will be present to recruit our top notch students.

University of Nebraska at Kearney INT Student in the News

Oftentimes our INT students love to take things apart to figure out how they work. One of our sophomore students, Robbie, figured out how to take his passion to the next level and make it earn its keep. So if your smartphone or tablet is in need to repair, talk to Robbie. Read more...

I always like to recognize INT students in the news whether it be Facebook news, headline news at our local newspaper or university news. Email me your link! We want to brag about you!

Summer is Over

Summer was officially over for me last week when the rush of retreats and back to school meetings started. Friday brought the big bash on campus in the form of Blue & Gold Day with hoards of students flooding the parking lots. Students and parents filled the dorms as furniture and luggage was lugged, crammed, and kicked up the stairs into the new little room that will be life for the next year.

In the spirit of back to school, I went looking for an awesome quote or hack to share with you. Instead, I stumbled across 9 websites created for all you students to save $$$money$$$. I am all about coupons and discounts especially when it comes to textbooks. So, here are some money saving tips: http://mashable.com/2012/08/17/textbook-sites/

Look around. Have fun and have a great start to the semester.

Get a Networking Degree

Recently our telecommunications degree was changed to reflect the networking content that we have been teaching for years. The new name, reflected below and hopefully soon above in the header, is information networking and telecommunications (INT). But what does a degree in networking mean? The degree is not social networking. The degree does not teach how to maintain media communication networks--speaker wires, video wiring, or microphone wiring. This degree focuses on the nitty gritty technical details of routing, switching, circuits and multiplexing, as well as, soft skills like leadership, business skills and management skills.

So what in the world do you do with this degree? Many exciting choices exist with a networking degree. Hackers, like Anonymous, have recently made the news with their many exploits. With a networking degree, you could work for a business and try and keep hackers like Anonymous out of your servers and out of your network. You could manage the servers on a network like email, web and DNS. You could manage helpdesk employees. You could manage an enterprise level network including devices like routers, switches, firewalls, intrusion detection and VPNs. The possibilities are almost endless.

The key word mentioned above is management. The degree does not aim to make a network techie but rather a well-rounded person. The degree aims to build a person who knows the technical details but also has the communication and leadership skills to move up into management.

Do you know anyone in IT? Ask them what they do. Interested? Get a degree in networking at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK).

Women in Information Networking & Telecommunications

As a woman myself, I want to encourage other women to join the information networking and telecommunications field. Women often bring a different aspect and a different viewpoint to the job and many leaders in industry find this view refreshing. In my former position as a network manager, I had the ability to empathize with our user base. This was a powerful connection as it allowed me to implement concepts and make the network better and more helpful to the users. I have found a short video of three empowering women in the technology field. Click here to watch a short video on women in technology. Ford is a big advocate for women in the pursuit of degrees in technology. I am an advocate for the same. So, this is to all you ladies, who want an engaging and rewarding career. Come join us in INT.

Finals Week in Networking and Telecommunications

This week is a source of stress for some students. My students have worked hard and put in much effort. The final that I have given is hard. It is not easy. The final is an accumulation of a semester long immersion in switching and routing. On the final, the students have to put together the big picture. How do you configure a small network with multiple switches and one router? How do you make a connection out to another router from your small branch office router? At the end of this semester, I hope that all of my students can, not only, answer these questions with confidence, but, implement, as well. After all, we do hands-on over here in INT. It's real-world stuff. So, come join us! Take a tour of our lab. It's real-world.