Local businesses will have an easier time tapping into the innovative ideas of Leeds School of Business students and faculty, thanks to a new center being established by the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The Center for Business Integration is being created to connect students and faculty from the systems division with local businesses looking for help with some of their toughest problems. James Marlatt, a Leeds School of Business senior instructor and former Arthur Andersen partner, will direct the center.
Technology has fundamentally shifted the way organizations buy and sell goods and services and integrate their supply chains and delivery systems, according to Ramiro Montealegre, chair of the systems division at the Leeds School.
"Corporate leaders must learn to manage their business operations and technology in today's 'netcentric' environment, and we want to help organizations meet this challenge by launching this new center," Montealegre said.
Faculty and students in the systems area are involved in the creation, storage, movement, analysis and delivery of information to help people make decisions that add value to businesses.
"We have heard from many members in the business community that they are interested in getting to know our students better so they can reduce their hiring risk when bringing new employees on board," Marlatt said.
While numerous internships are available to business students, as well as those with other majors, the center will connect students enrolled in specific CU-Boulder courses with businesses looking for practical ideas to solve specific business problems. Student projects will be part of the coursework and will account for up to a third of the grade for the course.
"Â鶹ÒùÔº will need to produce a high-quality product for these companies, so they will have to take what they are learning in class and put it to work on real business problems," Marlatt said.
Businesses will receive valuable information from the projects, and they also will get extensive support from the center in organizing and managing the projects, according to Marlatt. Many organizations have not implemented internships or done student projects with CU-Boulder because of the amount of work required to manage them. The center will make it much easier for businesses to participate in such programs, he said.
Marlatt conducted a "test run" during the 2004-05 school year, forming several partnerships with local businesses which agreed to have students work on projects for them. Student projects included identifying new sources of revenue for a local manufacturing company, identifying a cost-effective application of radio frequency identification technology for a local consumer products company, developing a prototype for business software, reducing vehicle theft for a local car dealership and several others.
Marlatt hopes the center will help students gain business contacts and networking skills, and that companies will benefit by getting access to the school's innovative ideas to their problems.
"This is a win-win situation, and I feel the possibilities are endless," said Marlatt. "In five years I hope the center will be the place that businesses will go to look for talent and ideas to solve various problems."
Marlatt spent eight years with Arthur Andersen based in Atlanta and Moscow as an executive working on numerous information systems projects. He also was a senior consultant with Price Waterhouse. He joined the systems faculty at the Leeds School of Business in 1999.
For more information about the center contact Marlatt at (720) 933-5541 or james.marlatt@colorado.edu.