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The Professional Advisory Board: The industry perspective on IT education

Last fall when the Department of Information Systems was beginning to think about a new master of science program, chairman Michael Goul took several ideas to the department's Professional Advisory Board (PAB). One idea was to offer students -- especially those in the school's new BA program -- a way to get a master's degree credential in their fifth year, giving them an edge when they hit the job market. "We took it to the Professional Advisory Board, and our focus was a lot on the input side," Goul said. "What the PAB helped us make sure that we did was to stop and think what the output side would be, if graduates were going to be able to contribute in a world class way to some area of need." The IS department created its Professional Advisory Board seven years ago; the board now numbers about 25, including representatives of major firms as well as medium and small cap companies.

2010-03-30

Last fall when the Department of Information Systems was beginning to think about a new master of science program, chairman Michael Goul took several ideas to the department's Professional Advisory Board (PAB). One idea was to offer students — especially those in the school's new BA program — a way to get a master's degree credential in their fifth year, giving them an edge when they hit the job market. "We took it to the Professional Advisory Board, and our focus was a lot on the input side," Goul said. "What the PAB helped us make sure that we did was to stop and think what the output side would be, if graduates were going to be able to contribute in a world class way to some area of need." That kind of student would be in high demand, board members said, and would attract recruiters from around the world. The IS department created its Professional Advisory Board when it split from W. P. Carey's School of Accountancy seven years ago. The board now numbers about 25, including representatives of major firms as well as medium and small cap companies. The mix gives the department a range of insights. The PAB contributes by vetting curriculum and teaching techniques in light of its collective wisdom concerning business trends, especially in the IT industry. Goul said he strives to offer the PAB full knowledge of the department and its students, which helps them in recruiting. In return, the department relies on the companies' front line knowledge of the conditions affecting their businesses right now. It's a reciprocal relationship in which both parties look for ways to help each other and the students. Joe Killalea, Program Manager, Upstream Information Technology, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, represents his company on the PAB. "I see (the PAB) as a means for the school to get an inventory of skills that the industry is looking for from IT professionals and students when they come out of school — the skills that over time have proven essential to perform well in the IT industry," he said. "A lot of these are not exclusively IT skills, but skills that could be used in any industry." He mentioned communication and inter-personal skills. "Within ExxonMobil, a lot of our IT activities are people related," he said. "IT professionals must be able to work with associates to determine their needs, and then articulate them accurately, either verbally or in writing. Along the same lines, you're interacting with a large organization, with varied people from varied backgrounds, so you have to be able to very quickly find a common ground for talking and working with a diverse workforce."

"I see the PAB as a means for the school to get an inventory of skills that the industry is looking for from IT professionals and students when they come out of school -- the skills that over time have proven essential to perform well in the IT industry," said PAB member Joe Killalea, Program Manager, Upstream Information Technology, ExxonMobil Global Services Company.

Killalea also said that the PAB makes the school aware of the critical issues facing the PAB member industries over the next 5-10 years. Some are specific to their respective industries, but others are more global: business trends, government regulation, ecological concerns. These big issues trickle down and affect the IT component of the company. Students need to be aware of them and should be thinking about how they will address them in their careers. The opportunity to work hand-in-hand with the departmental leadership and the professors is part of what puts ASU on ExxonMobil's recruiting map, Killalea added. In the case of the proposed master of science program, the PAB partnership yielded invaluable insights for the department. Polled for its reaction to the idea, board members responded by highlighting the changing conditions in their industries. A member from the healthcare industry, for example, pointed out that in the near future there will be a need for IT professionals to implement electronic record-keeping, but after the groundwork is laid, the industry will need a large workforce with knowledge of evidence-based solutions and data warehousing. Another board member commented that his firm is interested in plumbing social networking sites for insights into their customers and hints about emerging trends — data that his company will use in product design and marketing. "They got us thinking about the tail -- the output side of the program," Goul said. A faculty committee chaired by Professor Uday Kulkarni, is using the board's advice in the strategic planning for proposed program. Goul is hoping to build the board, adding members and knitting them even closer to the department. The goal is to be sure that students are prepared to excel — and help their future companies succeed. For Killalea and other PAB members, that's key.

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