Virtual Enterprise
IT Faculty Development Seminar
Keywords: Information Technology, BioTechnology, soft-skills, technology entrepreneurship,
Virtual Enterprise, active learning, t-shaped employee, educational pathways.
Project Description
In the Virtual Enterprise (VE) program, students act as entrepreneurs - designing and operating a simulated firm in the
classroom. Students interact locally as divisions of one enterprise facilitated by a trained instructor and support
materials. Each classroom can connect with an international community of simulated firms (the IVE Partner Network)
through a virtual economy (the IVE MarketMaker), an articulated series of events, and web-based community tools. The
net effect is for students to acquire the soft - and entrepreneurial - skills demanded in today's workforce - for instance,
teamwork, effective communication, and the ability to be flexible - while making concrete use of the content from their
academic major.
This project addresses the soft- and entrepreneurial- skill needs of technicians by extending the Virtual Enterprise
program to the information technology (IT) and biotechnology (BT) fields. The project is actively developing three
courses:
Current Focus (for the 2008-2009 Academic Year)
- veit-Careers is a drop-in for entry-level IT courses. The primary goal is to motivate students to pursue an IT
career, and to give them an idea of the breadth of jobs in the industry and the underlying education and skills
needed to achieve their desired position. In the engagement, the students form the staff of an IT department
within an existing firm. The hierarchy of positions would be predetermined; the students would research those
positions, apply for one and solve basic predetermined problems within that capacity.
Future Work (for the 2009-2010 Academic Year)
>
- veit-Capstone is meant for the graduating IT student. The primary goal is to put into practice their IT skills, while
developing an entrepreneurial mindset. Here, the students would create an IT consultancy centered around a
product or service that is IT related. While evolving the technical aspects of the product/service, they would
also handle the marketing, accounting and other facets of the business. Business structure would revolve
around different departments (marketing, R&D, etc.) and would not be preset for the students. The instructor
could predetermine the product or IT-subfield, if desired, to move the class in a particular direction; it's also
possible to structure the business as a "new product team" within an existing enterprise.
- vebt-Capstone is the Bio-Technology Virtual Enterprise. Its goals are similar to that of veit-Capstone.
Sessions
Session 1: The Virtual Enterprise Pedagogy
Open to faculty of all disciplines
February 3rd, 12:00pm-4:00pm Academic Village, Terrace Room, V219
(Coffee Break and Dinner Provided)
This session will cover the foundations of the Virtual Enterprise pedagogy including using VE as a course-module or as a
full-semester experience. The essential technological tools including the MarketMaker Virtual Economy, blogs and wikis
will be demonstrated. Faculty will be given time to experience the simulation first-hand and discuss how it might be
integrated into their own courses.
This session is not just for business faculty, it will be cross-disciplinary in nature. Sample syllabi will be provided from
different content-area VE experiences.
- Topic 1: Introduction to the Pedagogy
- Topic 2: Simulated Exercise: VE in an Hour
- Topic 3: Group Discussions by Pedagogies
Session 2: VE-IT for Information Technology Intro and Capstone Courses
Open to Information Technology Faculty who have attended Session 1
February 4th, 9:00am - 1:00pm Academic Village, Terrace Room, V219
(Continental Breakfast and Informal Lunch Provided)
This session is a follow-up to session 1, designed specifically for Information Technology faculty members. The session
will cover VE-IT Careers, a module designed to excite students about IT, give them a broad perspective of the career
pathways and bring soft and entrepreneurial skills.
A working framework for integrating the modules into introductory IT courses will be provided. Faculty attending the
session will be given follow-up steps for optional participation in a National Science Foundation sponsored working
group.
Registration
Interested parties should register by December 15th, 2008. This faculty development seminar is free.
To register, contact Ms. Christine Zagari (CZagari@kbcc.cuny.edu, 718-368-5778)
For questions, contact Prof. Edgar Troudt (Edgar.Troudt@kbcc.cuny.edu, 718-368-6598)
Please provide contact information, name of college and academic discipline in which you teach.
Acknowledgements
his work is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (ATE DUE-0802365). The views expressed are
solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation. The Kingsborough team also
gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the BATEC and Bio-Link ATE Centers to this work:
Travel from Outside NYC
Comfort Inn Brooklyn
3218 Emmons Ave., Brooklyn, NY
11235
(near Coyle St.
)
718-368-3334 | Fax: 718-368-3963
Best Western-Brooklyn Bay
3003 Emmons Ave, Brooklyn, NY
11235
(718) 769-5000
Nearest Airport: New York JFK
Local Travel with New York Metro Area
By Car:
From Manhattan and Staten Island: Belt Pkwy eastbound to Exit 8A (Coney
Island Ave.). Cross Coney Island Ave. and continue along Guider Ave. to the traffic
light. Turn right onto E. 12th St. for one block. Turn left onto Neptune Ave. at the
traffic light. Turn right at traffic light onto Cass Pl. and proceed to the second traffic
light. Turn right onto West End Ave. Turn left at second traffic light onto Oriental
Blvd, which leads directly to the College. From Queens and Nassau: Belt Pkwy westbound to Exit 8A (Coney
Island Ave.). Turn right onto Voorhies Ave. Turn right at second traffic light to Sheepshead Bay Rd. At third traffic light turn right onto Emmons Ave. At second
traffic light turn left onto West End Ave. Turn left at the third traffic light onto Oriental Blvd.
By Subway:
F Line: Take the F Line to the Ave. X Station, then transfer to the eastbound B1 to KCC.
N Line (Sea Beach): Take the N Line to the Bay Parkway / 86th St. Station, then transfer to the eastbound B1 to KCC.
Q or B lines: Take the Q or B Line to the Brighton Beach Station, then transfer to the eastbound B1 to KCC or take the Q
or B Line to the Sheepshead Bay Station, then transfer to the B49 to KCC.
D Line (West End): Take the D Line to the 25th Ave. Station, then transfer to the eastbound B1 to KCC.
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