SIS updates from the Report to Stakeholders 2004/05

"We want to be that part of the University that is like a laboratory setting -
where people explore how to use information technology and systems in
innovative ways to create business value."
Practice Professor Steven Miller, Dean of the School of Information Systems

The School of Information Systems has a 'laboratory-like' nature and the character of a young start-up. The programme continues to be developed through an ongoing process of collaboration and feedback that involves the dean, faculty, students and partners in both industry and government. This experimental culture helps refine the programme and engenders a strong sense of ownership for all involved.

Unlike a traditional undergraduate IT programme, only one-third of the courses focus on information technology and systems. Another third of the courses are in a business or social science discipline, providing students with the ability to understand the context for using IT. In fact, students are expected to use this block of courses for a second SMU major in areas such as accountancy, economics, finance, marketing, operations management or psychology. The remaining third of courses spans the liberal arts, enhancing students' communication abilities and analytic skills.

Students demonstrate their passion and ability to combine IT with business not only through their mix of coursework, but also through projects done through internships. As a result of the technology and systems coursework and out-of-class project work, students gain experience with project management in complex settings. Given the rapid changes in information technology, the School by necessity emphasizes 'learning to learn'. Experience with design-oriented thinking and methods enables students to analyze and create Business IT solutions. These aspects of the curriculum give students a distinctive and powerful set of skills.

This unique programme is working. From a pioneer intake of 92 students, the School has grown to its current three intake total of 380 students, with places highly oversubscribed each year. The School has attracted a mix of junior college, polytechnic and international students which strongly enhances the learning environment, and provides many opportunities for students to learn from peers of other backgrounds.

Industry has responded very positively to the programme. Over 60 companies, ranging from well-known multinationals, to local and regional mid-size companies, to small, entrepreneurial start-ups, have taken our students as interns. Industry has also actively participated in upper level undergraduate courses, such as Architectural Analysis, Process Modelling & Solution Blueprinting, Enterprise Information Systems, Financial Services and Business IT, and Managing IT Outsourcing.

Over the past year the School significantly increased the number of tenure-track research faculty. Through the ongoing partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, mentoring relationships were established between most of our non-tenured research faculty and senior Carnegie Mellon faculty. This supports the development of our younger faculty. Research and publishing efforts concentrated in selected areas of data management, information security, e-commerce and supply chain systems, e-business infrastructure, and information systems management. Planning is underway to launch a graduate research programme in these areas.

By design, the School of Information Systems maintains a higher proportion of practice-track faculty to tenure-track faculty than the other schools in SMU. This mixture strengthens our ability to integrate knowledge of technology, applications, and industry domains across education and research in interesting ways.

While the School is the smallest of the four schools at SMU, the highly talented faculty and students have an unusually large opportunity to do innovative work at the intersection of information technology, applications and management.